“It became clear in the past that this is a 50-over World Cup year, and it’s not possible for some guys to play all formats,” Rohit said on the eve of the first ODI against Sri Lanka. “If you look at the schedule, the matches are back-to-back. So given the workload of some players, we wanted to give them a break. And I also fall into that category.
“We only have six T20Is, three [against Sri Lanka] are over and we have three against New Zealand. So we will look after these guys until we get to the IPL, and see what happens after that. But definitely, I haven’t decided to leave the format.”
Rohit said, “Both the openers have done really well, but seeing how both have fared, it is only fair that we give Gayle a fair run, as he has done a lot in the last few games. Scored runs,” said Rohit. “So is Ishaan, I’m not taking anything away from him, he’s been great for us, he’s got a double century and I know what it takes to get a double century; that’s a huge achievement. .
“But to be honest and just to be fair to the guys who have done really well before, we need to give those guys plenty of opportunities before we call them up.
“It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to play Ishaan but given how things have gone for us over the last eight-nine months, and given how the ODIs have gone for us, it’s only fair. Gayle should be given this run. Did very well in that position. It’s very unfortunate for Ishaan but it doesn’t rule him out. We’ll try to keep everyone involved and see. That’s how it works for us as we play more games.”
