Rohit Sharma is not averse to playing with three spinners against Pakistan on the Narendra Modi Stadium ground with large square boundaries. But on the eve of the blockbuster Cricket World Cup 2023 clash, the Indian cricket team captain was in two minds over whether to continue with Shardul Thakur or bring in his senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. When asked if the number justifies playing three spinners, Rohit said, “I honestly don’t know. If there are a few changes to be made, we will be ready for that. And the boys are very well in advance of the informed.” about these kinds of changes. So I don’t think there will be any problems with the players. But if there is a demand that we play with three spinners, we will play with three spinners,” the skipper kept things quite open.
During the last Cricket World Cup, he scored five hundreds and was the vice-captain of the side. Captaining this edition of the tournament, he has set a world record by scoring seven hundreds in ODI World Cups.
What has changed in these four years? “Not much to be honest. I know what are the things I need to do to find success on the pitch, in terms of me as a player and then me as a captain.
“But if we talk about the player first, the batsman, I think for me there are certain boxes that I have to tick before every game, just to give you that confidence.” Preparation is very important for Rohit.
“And I thought that for my part, I did everything I could to prepare well for every match. Because we know that every day is a new day, a fresh day. And you start your fresh day as a new challenge. ” The past hardly matters and you only have to look to the future.
“You can get a bit of confidence from that, but as we know in sports, every day is a new day. You play against different opponents. They bring you new challenges. And you just have to be ready to take on that challenge to confront them.” challenge.” A meticulous understanding of his own game was the biggest asset.
“I understood my game, what is my game and what are the requirements of the team based on my game and my abilities. So I think I try to do all that as best as I can. If it comes out, it comes out. If not if that’s the case, it’s okay.
“As long as I know that before I get into the game I’ve checked all the boxes, I’m happy with that.”
Matches against Pakistan come with their own pressure, but Rohit doesn’t believe he needs to have a separate conversation with his men before facing the traditional rivals.
“I have said this many times: for us, tomorrow’s match is a match against the opposition. We will see that match in the same way we saw the last two matches and the upcoming matches. There is no need to think more or less thinking.” .
“We will prepare like we prepare for every game. And the message will be the same for all the boys. There is no need to do anything different.”
His idea is at odds with what the arch-rivals are doing at the moment, with PCB management chairman Zaka Ashraf’s pep talk video ahead of the match indicating the immense pressure on the visitors.
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