Rohit Sharma admits he is not sure of returning to Australia
Sydney (PTI): Rohit Sharma has always cherished playing in Australia and after a challenging ODI series against the old rivals, the former captain on Saturday admitted that there might not be another trip for him and Virat Kohli to their cricketing heartland.
Both Rohit and Kohli now play only one format after retiring from Tests and T20Is, and their careers have become a matter of intense speculation of late.
On Saturday, the two legendary batters joined forces yet again to save India from a series whitewash with their unconquered 168-run partnership, leading the side to a consolatory nine-wicket win in the third ODI here.
"Always love coming here and playing here. Fond memories of 2008. I’m not sure if we’ll be coming back to Australia, but we enjoy our cricket no matter what accolades we achieve," Rohit said after being named Player of the Match and Player of the Series.
Rohit hit a magnificent 121 while Kohli produced a 74-run knock in India's victory.
"We started afresh in Perth — that's how I look at things," he added, acknowledging the challenges of touring Australia.
Rohit also stressed the importance of experience and mentorship at this stage of their careers.
"You expect tough pitches and quality bowlers in Australia. Playing here is never easy. We couldn't win the series, but there are plenty of positives. It’s a young side, and there will be a lot of learnings.
"When I came into the squad, seniors helped us a lot; now it’s our job to do the same. We need to guide them, create game plans, and go back to basics, which I still do every time I play here,” he said.
For Rohit, the connection goes beyond results.
“I’ve had great memories here — from the SCG to Perth. I love playing here and hope to continue doing what I do,” he said, highlighting his enduring love for Australian cricket and its passionate crowds.
Kohli echoed the sentiment.
"You might have played international cricket for a long time, but the game teaches you something at every stage. Situations in the middle bring out the best in me. From early on, we've understood the situation well, that's what we've always done well (as a pair). We're probably the most experienced pair now, but back in the day when we were young - we knew we could take the game away from them with big partnerships."
"It all started in 2013 (the home series against Australia), if we put up a big partnership, we know we'll go a long way in helping the team win,” Kohli said.
He also thanked the fans for their unwavering support.
"We've loved coming to this country, we've played some good cricket, thank you guys for coming in big numbers and supporting us,” he added.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
