Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter
Captain Rohit Sharma said that their focus is on the Champions Trophy opening match and they are not looking too far as an overwhelming favourites India start their campaign against underdogs Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
A buoyant India are coming into the tournament on the back of a series win against England. They swept England 3-0, to fine tune for the Champions Trophy.
“It’s very easy for all of us to think far ahead and forget about what we need to do tomorrow. I think we’ll just think about what we need to do tomorrow and then take it match by match from there.”
“It is going to be a very tough tournament for all the teams as the margin of error is very less. All the games are equally important and any slip up can be very costly. All the ICC tournaments are very tough.
“It is only the ODI World Cup, teams get a chance to relax as there are around 10 matches in the first round and if you lose one or two there is always a room to bounce back and rectify your mistake.
“But the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy have difficult formats as you have to win two out of three matches to advance to the next round,” said Rohit.
He also said toss can play a crucial role due to dew factor but it is always not the case.
“Dew plays a big role in day night matches. But it becomes difficult to grip the ball in the second innings. Recently, we played against England in Ahmedabad, the dew disappeared in the second innings.
“It also depends on the different teams. Some teams like to avoid bowling second due to the dew factor while some teams want to put up a big score on the board after winning the toss,” he added.
He also hopes that the top four batsmen can give a good start and set the tone for a big total. Apart from Rohit and Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer had decent starts against England but failed to convert them into big scores.
“Your top three, four, five batsmen need to get that big score for you to post a big score eventually. So, I think our top four batters are quite experienced.
“We know that once they are set, once they are in, they like to get those big runs. They do understand that and everyone understands that between your top four, one has to get that big score.”
When Rohit was asked about the spin-heavy squad, he gave a strong reply.
“We don’t have five spinners. There are two specialist spinners while three are all-rounders. I don’t consider them as five spinners.
“Those three guys can bat and can bowl also. The rest of the teams have fast-bowling all-rounders. You don’t ask them why they have six fast bowlers,” he replied assertively.
Rohit also expressed his delight on the return of pace spearhead Mohammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav.
“We wanted him back in the squad at any cost. He has played two matches and looks in good shape. Whether he gets wickets or not that was completely immaterial for us at that point.
“When you talk about a bowler like Shami who’s done the job over the years so many times for us — for them, it’s just about getting back to their rhythm. I hope he can find some rhythm early on in this tournament and help the team.”
“Kuldeep had a hernia operation after the New Zealand series and was out of action for two and a half months. For certain players, it’s just about getting back to playing. The numbers will come. He Looks quite confident in what he wants to do,” added Rohit
Rohit also hoped his deputy Shbuman Gill carries his form into the tournament. Gill was the adjudged player of the series for scoring 259 runs in three ODIs, featuring one century and two half-tons as he heralded his return to the form after a lean patch in Test series in Australia.
“Gill is a very classy player, No one can doubt his ability in this squad,” Rohit said.
“We should not mix the formats and I don’t think that’s the right way to judge any player. We know the numbers are crazy with Gill. He has been superb for us in the last three-four years.”
“Obviously there is a reason that he has been promoted to be the vice-captain of the team as well. Hopefully, he has a great tournament here. It eventually will help us achieve the things that we are looking to achieve.”
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