New Delhi: Indian men’s team captain Rohit Sharma addressed the media ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. He talked about strategy and game plan, along with addressing questions on other things going on in cricket right now. According to Rohit, things will be different this time when the Men in Blue will face the Pakistan side.
India will start their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan on August 28. Talking about their game plan against Babar Azam’s side, Sharma said that the team is playing differently and the conditions are also different from that in Dubai where the arch-rivals faced each other last time. He added that his thought process has always been to not focus on the opponent but to continue to play their game. He mentioned the series against West Indies and England where this strategy worked well.
With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup coming closer, Rohit Sharma said that the team is more or less set. He said, “There is still about two-and-a-half months left for the T20 World Cup. Before that, we have the Asia Cup and two home series against Australia and South Africa. So, more or less 80-90 per cent of your team is set, of course, there could be three-four changes if at all depending on the conditions.”
Talking about Jasprit Bumrah’s injury, the captain said that they have been looking to create a bench strength. He said, “Bumrah, Shami and all these guys will not be with the Indian team forever, so you have to try and prepare the other guys.” He mentioned that he spoke with his deputy KL Rahul about how they will create a strong bench, considering the amount of cricket being played these days and the injury factor coming into play.
As the number of ODIs has become less as compared to the T20 cricket being played, there is a talk about the future of the format. Answering the concern he said, “Mera naam hi One-day cricket se bana hai. Sab bekar ki baatein hai. (I have made my name through One-day cricket. This is all nonsense.)” The cricketer added that such things were also said about Test cricket, but for him cricket is important. He said, “I wish there is another format as well because for me, playing the game is most important.”
Talking about new leagues emerging, he said that for the Indian players it is the IPL and international cricket as of now. He went to talk about youngsters like Shahbaz Ahmed, who is replacing injured Washington Sundar, and Rahul Tripathi getting a chance for the first time to tour with the Indian side.
The Indian team will be playing three ODIs against Zimbabwe starting from August 18, where KL Rahul will be leading the side. Whereas Rohit Sharma will return for his duty as the skipper in the Asia Cup 2022.
