Rohit Sharma leaves journalists in splits with run-out comments in press conference

Port Elizabeth: And after being involved in chaotic run-outs for six times before, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did it again; for the seventh time, during the fifth South Africa versus India ODI at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.

The history which began in 2011 added one more chapter to the story as Kohli was out run out – for the fifth time – while batting with Rohit in an ODI. The Mumbaikar batsman was involved in one more run-out during the fifth ODI as  he left Ajinkya Rahane high and dry.

Check out: Here’s the list of all 7 run-outs of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Those two-run outs did not trouble India much at the end of the day as Rohit scored a ton set up India’s 73-run win as South Africa were all out for 201, chasing 275.

While India were put under a bit of pressure following those two run-outs, it also had an impact on Rohit’s subdued celebrations after he brought up his 17^th ODI ton. However, the Indian opener was in good spirits during the post-match press conference as he left the entire media contingent in splits with his candid comments.

“Two batsmen (Kohli and Rahane) were run out before this (my hundred) in front of me. So, I was not in a mood to celebrate my hundred,” said Rohit amidst laughter amongst the media contingent.

Rohit did not stop at that. He was asked about his transition since 2013, the year when he started opening the innings for India in the limited-overs cricket.

“Since 2013, there’s a change in the way I am batting. The way I have brought changes to my batting, before 2013, I used to bat in the middle order. Since 2013, I have started to open the innings. So, don’t take into consideration whatever had happened before 2013 and ask me questions (about what has happened) since then,” said Rohit.

While the Indian opener faces a lot of his praise for his silken drives and big hits, he also faces a lot of heat after every failure in the middle. Rohit though does not seem to take all of it to heart as he said, “I feel privileged if the people are talking about me on the social media. Of course. People want to talk about me, they will talk about me. But to be honest, what goes in my head is completely opposite. I am here to do something special for the team. Whenever I get an opportunity to play, I always see that I do something special for my country."

"As a youngster, you worry about all those things (excessive mentions in social media) but I have passed that age now to keep worrying about what’s going outside the field, what people want to talk or what people don’t want to talk. As long as you are playing the sport, good things and bad things will happen. When you are doing good things, people will talk. When you are doing bad things, people will still talk. I have managed that really well in the past few years because when you are having a good time, be aware of that you will have a bad time as well. That’s how a sportsman’s career goes. I am pretty much in that space right now,” concluded Rohit.