'Ye pagalpanti nahi karte hum': Rohit Sharma stinging response to Asia Cup question- WATCH

Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector of the Indian men's cricket team, and captain Rohit Sharma jointly announced India's squad for the Asia Cup during a press conference in New Delhi. During the session, they addressed various concerns that had been floating regarding the composition of the playing XI. Agarkar also confirmed that the squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup will be around the very same players, who have been picked for the Asia Cup. 

3 things you need to know

• The Asia Cup 2023 will be held from August 30 to September 17
• India will play its first match against Pakistan on September 2
• The BCCI unveiled its 18-member squad on Monday, Aug 21

Also Read: 'He Is Not Ready': Rohit Sharma's Startling Revelation About Indian Cricketer's Position

Rohit Sharma's sharp response to middle-order concerns

Amid the discussions, an area of concern emerged regarding the absence of a consistent No. 4 batsman in India's lineup. In response, skipper Rohit Sharma expressed a lack of undue concern over specific batting numbers, emphasizing his desire for flexibility from his players. Addressing potential confusion, Rohit clarified that seeking flexibility doesn't imply deploying a lower-order batter to open the innings abruptly.

Rohit highlighted the experiences of senior players like himself and Virat Kohli, who had been tasked with performing in diverse positions during their early international careers. Rohit shared his own journey of playing across the middle and lower-middle order before solidifying his reputation as one of the finest limited-overs openers.

"Jo opener ka place hai woh udhar hi batting karta hai, 3 number wala 3 number pe hi khelta hai. 5 number pe KL Rahul aa raha tha, woh 5 number pe hi khel raha hai. Hardik 6 pe aata hai woh 6 pe khelta hai. 7 pe Jadeja hai. Toh number 4 aur 5 ka kabhi upar niche hoga toh usme koi problem nahi hai. Utna toh flexibility team main jaroori hai. Aur hum jab team main aaye the, aap mera batting position utha ke dekhlo, toh upar se leke niche tak batting hum sab youngsters ne ki hai. Toh woh flexibility ki main baat kar raha hu. Yeh nahi ki yeh opener hai isko 8 number pe bhejdo aur 8 number wale ko open kara do. Yeh pagalpanti nahi karte hum," Rohit said at the press conference. 

"The one who has the place of the opener, bats there only, the one with number 3 plays at number 3. Rahul was coming at number 5, he is playing at number 5 only. Hardik comes on 6, he plays on 6. There is Jadeja at 7. There is no problem is shuffling numbers 4 and 5. That much flexibility is necessary for the team. And when we came into the team, if you look at my batting position, all of us youngsters have batted from top to bottom. So that is the flexibility I am talking about. It's not that he is an opener, send him to number 8 and get the number 8 person to open. We don't do this crazy thing," Rohit's statement in English. 

Also Read: 'Chahal Should Take Retirement Now': Reactions Pour In As India Announces Asia Cup Squad

India's Asia Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (vc), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Travelling reserve: Sanju Samson (wk)

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