Former Indian player Yograj Singh, Yuvraj Singh's father, has come out in strong support of Rohit Sharma, slamming the Indian ODI skipper's critics, saying he needs to play for another five years for India. 

“The man about whom so many people speak rubbish, Rohit Sharma – I said that day that Rohit will be my man, the man, my man,” Yograj told News18 CricketNext.

Yograj made a bold statement that Rohit's unique class and technique could sustain him until 45.

"The way he batted, his batting on one side and the rest of the team's batting on the other side. His innings on one side and the rest of the world on the other. That's his class. You can say, 'Rohit, aapki hume 5 saal aur zarurat hai yaar' (Rohit, we need you for five more years, man), so please do more for your country, work on your fitness and everything," he added.

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"Put four men on him, make him run 10 kilometres every morning. He has the class to play till 45 years of age, if he wants," Yograj added.

Yograj suggested that Rohit needs to maintain his fitness levels by playing domestic cricket in an effort to prolong his international career.

"I believe you should play domestic cricket; the more you play that, the fitter you'll be. Who got the Man of the Match in the final? Rohit Sharma," Yograj said.

"So you should only talk about things that you know. If you want to talk about his game and fitness, do that only if you have played at some level. Do you feel ashamed talking like this?" a former Indian player said.

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Rohit has bid farewell to T20Is after India's World Cup triumph, while also announcing his retirement from Test format ahead of the England tour; however, he continues to spearhead India's ODI team.