07 July,2019 05:14 PM IST | | PTI
Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja reacted angrily to Sanjay Manjrekar's 'bits and pieces cricketer' comment about him but Rohit Sharma has learned to live with outside distractions, which he believes will remain a challenge for active players.
Skipper Virat Kohli has time and again stated that the team is not bothered by the outside talk and it's more about what they believe in the change room.
However, Jadeja's tweet attack, where he had equated Manjrekar's cricketing analysis with the number of matches he has played, shows how sensitive players are about criticism.
"See, that's a challenge for the sportsmen," Rohit, India's man of the moment, said when asked about the Jadeja-Manjrekar episode.
ALSO READ
Dhoni, Rohit, KL gear up for charity
This month that year: A journey through time
Erasmus admits to making ‘massive error’ in 2019 ODI World Cup final
How Kuldeep 2.0 emerged as India's most impactful spinner vs England
MS Dhoni: 'Run-out in 2019 WC semis made it clear it was my last day for India'
"All this distraction will happen, but every individual is different and it depends on how he wants to think about that particular incident or situation," the Indian vice-captain said.
Rohit, who has scored 647 runs in this World Cup, however, feels that a bit of self insulation helps as it can keep a player in his own bubble.
"For me, I want to stay away from all that and enjoy the beautiful weather in England. I have my family here as well. Most of the time, that's what I'm trying to do rather than thinking about all those talks going around," he said.
He feels that each player should accept, that as long as they are playing the sport, it will be very difficult to avoid criticism.
But he does agree that constant talk about performances and expectations can get to one's nerve.
In fact, Rohit feels that "a logistics manager" is required so that the team can at least have some peaceful time from the constant "we want the Cup" type yapping.
"Eventually our job is to come here, play good cricket and win the World Cup. We all know that. But constantly yapping in anyone's ear is not right. So, I think for us as cricketers, it's important for us to just stay completely put that away and focus on the job at hand," the 'Hit-Man' said.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates