Rohit Sharma opens up on struggles against left-armers, says defending myself is not my job

India’s veteran batter Rohit Sharma has opened up on troubles against left-arm pacers. Rohit said criticism is part and parcel of the game and said defending himself is not his job. 

The former Indian captain retired from Test cricket on May 7, calling time on his 11-year old career. Rohit played 67 Tests, leading in 24 of them since taking over the reins of the team from Virat Kohli in 2022. He ends his career with a total of 4301 runs, including 12 centuries.

Meanwhile, Rohit faced some problems while playing facing left-arm quicks, who had the skills to move the ball back into the right-hander from over the wicket angle.

“I’ve faced a lot of criticism, even unnecessary criticism. I can’t say that criticism doesn’t affect anyone. So much has been said about me getting out to left-arm seamers. Fine, it happens. That’s part of the game. But if you go around defending every comment, you’re just wasting your time. Defending myself is not my job,” said Rohit in an interview with Vimal Kumar.

In his international career across all three formats, Rohit was dismissed on 110 occasions by left-arm pacers.

Earlier, Rohit could only manage 31 runs in three Test matches against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2024-25 at an average of 6.20 and also stood down in the final Test against Australia at Sydney, casting a doubt on his Test future.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli has also decided to call time on his Test career and thus India would be without the services of their two veteran batters for the five-match Test series against England. 

The opening Test between England and India will be played at Leeds, Headingley on June 20 onwards.