Team India captain Rohit Sharma has revealed that doing well in ICC tournaments is a challenge for them considering their past record over the last decade which has not been good as well. He, however, shared that the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia is an opportunity for them to turn the table.
However, India haven’t won any ICC trophy since MS Dhoni led the side to a win during the 2013 Champions Trophy in England as well. They last won the T20 championship in 2007 and the One Day trophy in 2011 as well. Meanwhile, India will begin their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign by playing against their arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday, October 23.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the match, Rohit said:
“I will not want say (there is) pressure, but it is definitely a challenge for us to come out on top in ICC tournaments. Yes, there has been not the performance what we would like to (have had) in ICC tournaments, especially in big games, but I believe the opportunity always comes and we have the opportunity now to come here and do well.
Just 1⃣ sleep away!
We are geared up for Game 1, are you❓#TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/rMO1sa13Jj
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 22, 2022
“So, I think we will have to focus on certain things to get that right. Yes, it is a challenge to not win ICC trophy for nine years, if I am not wrong. The last one we won was in 2013. So yeah, it has been a challenge with a team like us. Obviously, there are a lot of expectations; we certainly little disappointed with that.”
He added:
“This tournament gives us that chance to change it and do well. We certainly know we have to play our best cricket to do well here. We’ll probably have to take one game at a time, and then move on from there and think about the next one.”
“He will not be short of match practice” – Rohit Sharma on Mohammed Shami
India will be without the service of their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as he was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a back injury, the BCCI named veteran pacer Mohammed Shami as his replacement. However, Shami has not played a single T20I since the World Cup last year and he also missed the home series against Australia and South Africa due to COVID as well.
Explaining their decision, Rohit Sharma said:
“The guy has got so much experience. (He has) been playing for so many years for India and has played World Cups as well before. We all know the quality that he has. When Bumrah got injured, we always wanted to have someone experienced in the line-up. Shami was the right choice for us.
#TeamIndia begin their nets session ahead of #INDvPAK tomorrow at #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/at7JZWPS03
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 22, 2022
“Looking at what has happened with him in the last 20-25 days, obviously he got COVID back home and had to miss the home series leading up to the World Cup. The kind of experience that he has, we know that he will not be short of match practice.”
Rohit Sharma also talked about Mohammed Shami bowling the last over in the warm-up match against Australia. Rohit also explained that Shami is very well prepared as he picked up three wickets in the last over of the practice match against Australia, which India won by six runs also.
“That was always the plan. We know he is very good with the new ball, so we wanted to give him the challenge of bowling at the death. Most importantly, his body was something we had to look at. We wanted to give him full four overs in the next warm-up game, but unfortunately the match was washed out. He’s been training with the team for a while now. He’s very much ready. It’s just about going out and executing now what Shami is known for,” Rohit Sharma again shared.
Meanwhile, a lot of chaos is going on regarding India’s travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup next year. While the captain was asked for his thoughts on the same, Rohit said that they are not thinking about that now. Notably, India last toured Pakistan during the 2008 Asia Cup whereas their last bilateral series in the country was in 2005-06 as well.
“My take is let’s focus on the World Cup because this is important for us. We are not worried about what is going to happen later. There is no point thinking about it. BCCI will make the decisions on that. We are focused on how we need to be very well prepared (for the World Cup),” Rohit Sharma concluded.
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