Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (DUBAI)
India captain Rohit Sharma has clarified that he is not retiring from one-day international cricket after leading his team to a record third Champions Trophy title in Dubai. India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final on Sunday to add a second world title in as many years delighting the fans in the UAE and back home.
His knock of 76 runs in India's chase of the 252-run target was instrumental enough for the "Hitman" to win the player of the match award.
India, under Sharma, ended runners-up in the 2023 ODI World Cup after they lost the final to Australia in Ahmedabad. Apart from that loss in the final, India have remained unbeaten in the past three tournaments at the world stage with the joint 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies besides this Champions Trophy campaign.
With the next major ICC event, the Cricket World Cup, two years away, the 37-year-old Sharma was made to recall an old interview he gave saying it is the one-day showpiece that he cherishes the most.
"I think I said this before the 2019 World Cup, where I played but the team did not win the cup. That's why I said earlier, if the team benefits and wins, even if you played a small part, it is most satisfying [pointing to the cup], and this is as good as any world title," Sharma said during a lengthy press conference.
Just when the reporters exhausted their questions, Sharma volunteered with the clarification: "And yes, to be clear, I am not retiring yet".
Sharma, 37, and Virat Kohli, 36, had a lean run of form in India's 3-1 Test defeat in Australia earlier this year and the pair came into the tournament with speculation swirling over their ODI retirements. Sharma's knock in the final was his first fifty of the tournament though he had a hundred against England in the one-day series preceding the Champions Trophy in which eight teams figured.
England and Australia captains Jos Buttler and Steve Smith decided it was time for them to retire as soon as their respective sides bowed out of the tournament. While Buttler owned up responsibility for the team's failure to not even progress to the semi-final, Smith opted to drop ODIs out of his career workload and focus on the Test cricket format.
Another retirement seemed a possibility after the final with speculation that India skipper Rohit Sharma would go out of the format with a winning feather on his cap. Both Sharma and Kohli now have four world titles on their resume, one behind Australia great Ricky Ponting with the most.
Closing Conundrum
While Sharma's retirement issue got settled, there was some confusion at the dignitary list for the final and closing ceremony at the packed Dubai venue. The tournament's hosting rights were with Pakistan while the UAE got added as co-hosts only to accommodate India's matches due to the poor bilateral relations between the subcontinental nations.
There was some consternation once the Emirates Cricket Board had to stage the grand finale when India progressed through the knockout rounds. The tournament favourites also went on to win the White Jacket and the trophy, but none of the seniormost officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were present.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi did not travel to Dubai citing official commitments as the interior minister of the country, though he travelled multiple times in the buildup to the event as well as for just one night on the eve of the India-Pakistan clash in the group stage.
"Mr Naqvi had conveyed to the ICC that he was busy in the joint parliament session in Islamabad where President Asif Zardari was due to address," a source told the Telecom Asia Sport website. Pakistan did not even qualify for the semi-finals in the tournament they hosted, partly, after a gap of 29 years.
Some pointed out that the PCB Chief Operating Officer and the tournament director Sumair Ahmed was present but not called upon to the podium. It was counter-argued that his position was not enough to fit in the protocol hierarchy.
The same report cited a former Pakistan player telling on the condition of anonymity: "I believe wrong reflection will be conveyed to India that PCB chairman did not attend the ceremony because India was in the final and also became the ultimate winner."
