As Rohit Sharma retirement rumours intensify, India coach issues clear response: 'Don't think he's under pressure'

Will Rohit Sharma retire from one-day cricket? Intense speculations arose over the ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain after he looked under pressure to deliver during the England ODI series.

On Thursday, Rohit scored 26 runs off 47 deliveries against England in the second ODI match in Cardiff. The Hitman was dismissed for just 11 runs in the series-opening match, indicating that the Indian opener is going through a slump.

Amid speculations over Rohit's status, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak cleared the air on the scenario.

'Don't think Rohit's under any pressure'

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Kotal expressed that Rohit is too experienced and skilled to feel pressure and rejected the notion that the Indian opener was struggling. But he pointed out that some of Rohit's attacking shots did not come off due to the pitch's uneven bounce.

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"I don't think a player of Rohit's calibre will come under any kind of pressure. He's too good a player to feel that," said Kotak during the post-match press conference.

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"I wouldn't use the word he was struggling, but maybe the shots he normally plays on the up and all, which is because of the double bounce. Probably he felt it wasn't comfortable," Kotak said.

Kotak opens up on India's loss in 2nd ODI

India struggled to build partnerships and produce runs in the first innings at Cardiff, but Kotak insisted that the lack of partnerships was not the decisive factor behind their defeat in the second ODI against England.

"In the last match, there was a partnership. And even today, I think, overall, India were 178 for 3, when Virat was playing. Till then, the partnerships were good. I think, unfortunately, Washington (Sundar) got injured...and he obviously got out.

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"After that, we lost two quick wickets (Axar Patel and Shivam Dube) and that made a difference. Had we scored 270-280, it would have been a really challenging score," Kotak added.

After England’s four‑wicket win over India in the second ODI at Cardiff levelled the series 1‑1, the Men in Blue will look to bounce back and clinch victory in the decisive third match at Lord’s on Sunday, July 19.