Rohit Sharma breaks silence on his iconic ‘koi garden me nahi ghoomega’ remark: ‘Had told the players in morning…’
Rohit Sharma, India‘s Test and ODI captain, finally broke his silence regarding what prompted him to say his iconic ‘koi Garden me nahi ghoomega’ line during the Test series against England last year. For the uninitiated, the 37-year-old was heard on the stump mic during the Visakhapatnam Test, pulling up his players for not showing enough energy on the field.
The incident happened on the second day of the Test, which India eventually won. After over a year, Rohit Sharma finally opened up about what had happened.
While speaking on JioHotstar, Rohit explained that he was not pleased with some individuals just casually strolling along the field at the crucial juncture of the game. The India captain then said he wanted to win the Vizag Test because the hosts had lost the series opener in Hyderabad.
“It was in Vizag. I saw the over end, and the players were leisurely walking as if they were in a garden. No one was running. There was no urgency in the field. I was fielding in the slip, we had spinners bowling from both ends,” Rohit said.
“The game was hanging by a loose thread; it was an important game, and we had to win. I had told the players in the morning that we need to put in some extra effort, but they were having fun on the ground,” he added.
‘Everyone was just going with the flow’
Rohit Sharma then further explained that he was annoyed by the lack of energy from his teammates, which prompted him to give a warning.
He also said that he was really desperate for a wicket as a partnership was building up. This was why he asked the rest of the team to be more proactive on the field.
“So I saw it for two-three overs and then said things can’t go on like this, you can’t play cricket like this. Everyone was just going with the flow, which annoyed me, and then I told everyone not to be like that,” said Rohit.
“A partnership was going on. I was desperate to get a wicket. In such moments, everyone needs to put in a collective effort. At that moment, I saw everyone being busy with themselves, which I didn’t like,” he added.
India had won the Vizag Test against England by 106 runs to level the five-match series. Eventually, India won the series 4-1.
After the series win, Rohit Sharma also uploaded a picture with his teammates with the captain reading, “Garden mein ghoomne wale bande.” In the picture, Rohit is seen posing for the camera alongside Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan.