I am shocked at Rohit’s retirement, says Ajinkya Rahane

On the match against CSK, Rahane said that CSK took their chances and that paid off.

Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane, who also leads Mumbai in first-class cricket , said Rohit Sharma had done fantastically well in the Test format.

”I didn’t know, I was actually, I’m actually shocked, I didn’t know that he retired in the test format. But I just want to wish him the best, whatever his plans are,” he said in the post-match briefing after his team lost to Chennai Super Kings in the IPL in Kolkata on Wednesday night.

“Rohit has done really well, improved his game, I thought, as a Test batter. He started his career at No. 5,6 and then opened the innings. I thought the way he adapted to that opening slot was amazing to see,” Rahane said.

“Rohit always wanted to take on the bowlers, play with freedom and that’s what he wanted other) players to do as well, play with freedom. So, I just want to wish him the best, probably I’ll call him once I go back to the dressing room or send him a message, but just want to congratulate him on a fantastic test career,” Rahane.

On the match against CSK, Rahane said that CSK took their chances and that paid off. “So that can happen to anyone, but I thought we still came back into the game really well,” he said.

“ We wanted to pick up wickets after we picked up five wickets initially and that they had a very good partnership. But after that, we knew that with a couple of wickets, we could still come back in the game. And that was the plan,” Rahane said.

“I thought as a bowling unit, we did that pretty well. Batting-wise, probably 190, 195 was the total on this wicket, we thought. But bowling-wise, I thought we did everything what we asked for,” the KKR captains said..

“ We have two games left, one against Hyderabad and then Bangalore. So as a team, we have to be positive, think about how we can win the next two games,” Rahane said.

“So we have to be positive, think about winning our next two games and then let’s see what happens on 15 points,” he said.