Indian captain Rohit Sharma attended a pre-match press conference ahead of much-awaited India’s T20 World Cup opening match against Pakistan, which will take place. India will lock horns against their arch-rivals Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, October 23rd. During the press-conference, Rohit revealed that all the 15 members of the Indian side are fit and fine for the big clash ahead.
Here, in this article, we bring you 5 important statements Rohit Sharma made during the press conference. Have a look:
On the one change, he has looked at since the last T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma candidly talked about India’s disappointing exit from the 2021 T20 World Cup, where the Virat Kohli team was knocked out in the group stage of the tournament. Speaking about that one chance he has looked at since the last T20 World Cup, Rohit said:
“Giving the boys the freedom and security was very important. To let them know that they can do the job for us, without them worrying about their place in the team. If your mindset is right, you can go out there and perform fearlessly. Winning wasn’t as important as that for us in the lead up to this World Cup.”
On India not winning ICC trophies:
The Indian side had won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Ever since then, the Indian side has come close to the trophy a couple of times but has faltered when it mattered the most. In the 2021 edition, team India under Virat Kohli’s leadership failed to make it beyond the league stage for the first time in the tournament’s history. Talking about India not winning the ICC trophies, Rohit said:
‘Pressure toh nahi bolunga but it has definitely been a challenge for us to perform at the ICC tournaments. We will have to focus to get things right. The last one we won was in 2013. With a team like India, there are a lot of expectations. This tournament gives us a chance of changing that. We don’t need to think too much about.’
On India’s batting vs Pakistan’s bowling:
The last time when India and Pakistan collided with each other in a world cup match, Pakistan’s bowlers dominated the Indian batters. Speaking about India’s batting vs Pakistan’s bowling battle, Rohit said:
“We also know their bowling is very good. And our batters are quite experienced. It becomes a good situation for the match and the viewers. I’ll say this that we have talked about how we need to execute this. For us both batting and bowling will be important and we must also not forget fielding.”
On shorter boundaries at one side!
Speaking about the pitch conditions of Australia, Rohit said: “Even in Perth, when we were playing warm-up, one side boundary was kept longer. We have played on these grounds quite a lot. When you play on such grounds, you need to think tactically. Don’t think there will be a short-long boundary concept in tomorrow’s match. We have had the conversation on it with our batters and bowlers. We have also talked to our batters on how to convert singles into doubles and triples by hitting in the gap. Dekho abhi kya karte hai ladke.“
If India are favorite vs Pakistan:
When asked about whether India is favorite against Pakistan, Rohit said: “I don’t believe in the terms, favorites and underdogs. If you don’t reach the ground with the right mindset on that day, you won’t be able to perform. Whenever we come into the World Cup, there’s outside talk about favorites and underdogs. The qualifier was the best example of how you need to focus on execution on that very day.”
