Going by appearances alone, Rohit Sharma did not look like he was going to retire on Sunday at Lord's. Whatever the facts and the speculation since Thursday, when news emerged that the selectors had informed the former India captain they were moving on, a development confirmed by Cricinfo, Rohit seemed to give it no mind.
As soon as he walked into the iconic Lord's dressing room balcony, made famous by Sourav Ganguly's shirt-waving celebrations after India's Natwest Trophy triumph in 2002 among other things, Rohit broke into a big smile, sharing a light-hearted exchange with India head coach Gautam Gambhir. As he stepped onto the ground, Rohit walked straight to the Nursery ground, where teams train, skipping the usual drill of checking the pitch.
He would bat for about 45 minutes, swapping the crease with Ishan Kishan. "Shot, Rohit", was a frequent refrain as he punched straight drives, lunged forward for square drives and rocked back swiftly to pull against a rising and fast delivery from the throwdown specialist Raghu, whom India's batters regard as among the most challenging to face.
Against his good friend Kuldeep Yadav, who is likely to play his first match of the series on Sunday, Rohit often stepped out to nullify the turn, went down on the back knee to sweep, and rocked back to cut behind square. He also advanced at Prince Yadav, driving through the covers while staying alert to any movement. There was nothing out of the ordinary in Rohit's session. Unlike Virat Kohli, who shows intensity even in the nets, Rohit tends to go about his job rather quietly.
But Rohit also knows how to poke a bowler. When Kuldeep beat him in the flight with a googly and a faint edge trickled wide of the first slip, the bowler let out an excited "aaaeeee" in celebration. Rohit shot back: "Kya aaeeee. It was so much outside (the off stump)." Kuldeep could only smile sheepishly, but came back strong soon, beating Rohit again with the turn to bowl him. Kuldeep this time just walked back to his bowling mark as Rohit adjusted the broken stumps.
Raghu went through his defences as well with a "Bahut accha ball tha" (it was a very good ball). Rohit once again did not react much. Soon, he wrapped up his batting session, had a chat with Gambhir and headed out.
Lord's has not particularly been a happy hunting ground for Rohit in ODIs - he has scores of 15 and 0 in the two matches he has played at the historic venue. While India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak described Rohit's returns of 11 and 23 in the first two ODIs as the result of a batter yet to find his rhythm, Rohit will know he needs big runs.
As he walked back into the main ground, Rohit dropped his kit bag and skipped over the rope fencing the surface for tomorrow's match. Alone, he ambled up and down the strip. He then looked towards square leg (while facing the Pavilion), rehearsed a pull in the direction between the Mound and Tavern stands, where one of Lord's symbols, the Father Time is located.
The mythical Father Time, Lord's website describes, watches the passage of time. Over a century of its existence, Father Time has seen players walk out on a high or quietly out of the game. Can Rohit do something memorable? Whatever the outcome, all eyes will be on him on Sunday.