ROHIT SHARMA FINALLY BREAKS HIS SILENCE ON CONTROVERSY OVER HAMSTRING INJURY   

The much talked about hamstring injury of Rohit Sharma during the IPL 2020 confused and amused him as well. Rohit says he always knew that the injury was not that serious or big and he would also be ready for the tour of Australia. 

In a recent conversation with PTI news agency, Team India's white-ball vice-captain opened up about the hamstring injury which became a matter of intense speculation after he came into action within days of being left out of the Australia tour. Later on, he was added to the Test squad after much debate and ruckus on social media. 

"I don't know what was going on, to be honest and what all were people talking about. But let me put this on record, I was constantly communicating with BCCI and Mumbai Indians. I told them (Mumbai Indians) that I can take the field since it is the shortest format and I will be able to manage the situation quite nicely. Once I made my mind clear, it was all about focussing on what I needed to do," Rohit said.

During the match against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final of IPL 2020, Rohit made a match-winning knock of 68 off 50 balls playing through pain. Post the IPL, Rohit is currently doing strength and conditioning work at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru before he can head to Australia.

"Hamstring is feeling absolutely fine. Just started the process of getting it nice and strong. Before I play the longer format, I absolutely needed to be clear in mind that there is no stone that is left unturned, that's probably the reason, I'm at the NCA. So for me, it was not a concern what x, y or z was talking about like whether he would make it to Australia," Rohit added.

Further in the conversation, Rohit stated that the discussion on the outside regarding his injury and his participation in the IPL play-offs, didn't matter much to him.

"Once the injury happened, the next two days all I did was to figure out what I can do in the next 10 days and whether I will be able to play or not. But every day, hamstring (degree of injury) was changing. The way it was responding was changing, so I was feeling quite confident that I could play and that is the communication that I had with MI at that point. I told them that I think I will be okay to play just before play-offs. If there is any discomfort, I won't be playing the play-offs," Rohit asserted to PTI. 

When Rohit was asked about if he still needs time to recover as the series starts December 17. The five time IPL champion said that "Of course, there is still some work that needs to be done on my hamstring. That's why I didn't go to Australia for the white-ball leg as there are back-to-back games. Around 6 games in 11 days. So I thought if I get to work on my body for 25 days, I can probably go and play the Test matches. So it was an easy decision for me and I don't know why it became so complicated for others," he exclaimed.

Also talking about his relationship with IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, Rohit spoke about his enduring love and respect for his IPL team; he said it was not created overnight. "Yeah, we have a (Kieron) Pollard, a Hardik (Pandya), (Jasprit) Bumrah but has anybody thought why this team is successful? Lot of people, I hear say that can he (Rohit) do it with other teams? Firstly, why shall I need to do it with other teams? There is a certain way this franchise wants to go and same direction I want to go as well, both as a player and leader," he explained.

"Did this team become good overnight? No. It's just that this franchise doesn't believe in chopping and changing. And every player, including Rohit Sharma, was available (2011) at auctions. Just that MI picked and believed in building a team," he also added.

Talking about how proud he feels of MI getting New Zealand pacer Trent Boult in the squad. Boult was released by Delhi Capitals (DC) before the players auction. Rohit feels that he really worked wonders for the team. "Trent Boult was with Delhi last year and before that with Sunrisers. We needed someone to provide wickets upfront and who could swing the ball. We strongly pursued him and got him from Capitals, something I am proud of," Rohit said.

Also, highlighting how the franchise provided an environment that created memories of a lifetime for the team, Rohit stated that it was a tough year being locked in a bio-bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "MI in a year where everything was uncertain, created a happy space for us. 80 days in a bio-bubble never felt claustrophobic. Every little aspect was taken care of and the preparation started in June in a bio-secure environment with all net bowlers and Indian players," he said.

Meanwhile, citing Suryakumar Yadav's composure while dealing with India rejection, Rohit said that "We were sitting in our team room and I could feel he was dejected. But I didn't go and speak to him. It was he who came up and said, 'Don''t worry I will get over it and win the matches for MI'. And when he said that I also realised he is heading in the right direction not only in terms of IPL but in his overall career. There are a lot of India games and his time will come. If you ask me, my philosophy is mind over matter and that's what works for me," he finally concluded.