'Talks Outside Are Immaterial...Important To Focus On My Job': Rohit Sharma On ODI Captaincy

Sourav Ganguly clarified in an interview that selectors did not want to have two different captains for ODI and T20 teams and hence they decided to make Rohit India's captain in white-ball cricket.

New Delhi: A new era has begun in Indian cricket after team India's senior opener Rohit Sharma was handed the limited overs captaincy in place of Virat Kohli.

Star batter Virat Kohli had announced to step down as Team India's T20 captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup. Later, BCCI, in a shocking move, made Rohit Sharma team India's white-ball captain, leaving Virat's fans fuming.

The 34-year-old senior bater has also been made India's vice-captain in Test format ahead of India's tour of South Africa. 

BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly clarified in an interview that the selectors did not want to have two different captains for ODI and T20 teams and hence they decided to make Rohit India's captain in white-ball cricket.

Reacting to the controversy, Rohit Sharma has now put an end to all the speculations and said 'talks outside are immaterial'.

"When you are playing cricket for India, the pressure is always going to be high. The pressure is always going to be there. There will be a lot of people talking about it; be it positively or negatively.

"For me, personally, as a cricketer, it is important to focus on my job and not to focus on what people are talking about because you can't control that. I have said it a million times and I will keep repeating it," Rohit said on bcci.tv.

🗣️🗣️ "The pressure will always be there. As a cricketer, it is important to focus on my job."

SPECIAL - @ImRo45's first interview after being named #TeamIndia’s white-ball captain coming up on https://t.co/Z3MPyesSeZ. 📽️

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— BCCI (@BCCI) December 12, 2021

“This is also the same message to the team and the team understand that when we are playing a high-profile tournament, there will be a lot of talks.

"It's just important for us to focus on what we have in hand; which is to go and win games and play the way you are known for. So, those talks outside are immaterial.

"What we think of each other is more important. You want to share a strong bond between players and that is what will help us achieve the goal we want to," the senior opener said.