Rohit Sharma, the India skipper, has been constantly providing his side with blazing starts at the top of the order. Ahead of the game against Sri Lanka, Rohit pointed out that he is trying to play as per the team’s needs.
“I am enjoying my batting but obviously keeping in mind the team and the situation. It is not like that I have to go and swing my bat mindlessly. I have to play well and get the team in good situations, that is my mindset,” he said in a pre-match press-conference.
He further elaborated on how a batter goes about adapting to the different situations of the game. “I mean, look, you read the situation, you see where the game is going, you see what the right move in that particular situation is. You try and analyse all those things and you try and make a move. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work. So, you’ve got to be prepared for that.”
The Indian team has been on an unbeaten run, having won all their games so far. On the other hand, Sri Lanka are struggling with just a couple of victories to their name. Rohit noted that India wouldn’t take Sri Lanka lightly, and it is important to focus on your own team’s strengths and weaknesses rather than thinking too much about the opponent.
“Every team is trying to beat the other team, so at no point or no game you can think that this is a cakewalk for us. It’s important that you stay in the present, do your processes, keep working as a team, what you’ve been doing as a team, focus on all those aspects and as a team that is what we are trying to do.
“We are not trying to look too much into the opposition, we’re trying to internally look into ourselves and see where we can get better as a team, better as a player, certain areas that we want to work on. Yes, we have won six games, but there have been a lot of games where we did not have a perfect game. And you cannot have a perfect game, but near perfect game is what you want as a team. So those are the things that we try and look into.”
Rohit also said the think-tank is open to picking three spinners if needed. “All sorts of combination are possible. We can still play three spinners and two seamers if need be. In this tournament you’ve seen that spinners are actually the ones stopping that run flow in the middle overs. I’m keeping my options open whether we have Hardik or not. If the situation demands we play three spinners, we will play three spinners.”
After winning a slew of games batting second, India beat England by setting a target. Rohit shared his views on the game versus England and also about the likely conditions at the Wankhede. “As you say, it’s a high-scoring ground, but at the same time, if the bowlers put the ball in the right area, it can be slightly difficult. So, everyone gets value here, the bowlers, spinners as well, and the batters.
“I mean, from the team’s perspective, it was good for us to bat first in the last game and win the game. Even though we didn’t post an over-par score or a par score, but our bowlers did a fantastic job, which they have been in the last six games. We’ll assess in the morning and see how it is and we’ll make the call whether to bat or bowl first.”