Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma
Credit: PTI Photo
New York: Rohit Sharma was typically charming on the eve of India’s high-profile game against Pakistan on Sunday, but in his humour lay an unsettling truth.
The Indian skipper, when informed that he and his team had spent more time at the Nassau County International stadium than Pakistan, played down the impact of their duration before cheekily inserting that he doesn’t have a clue how the pitch is going to behave on the day.
“See, this is not our house (chuckles),” Rohit started off in a conscious effort to disarm the media. “Yeah, we have been here for a little extra but we didn’t get to train because of rain for a few days. Yes, we have played a couple of matches on this wicket, but we don’t know what sort of a wicket we’re going to get tomorrow.
“Where we’re from we’re not used to playing on drop-in pitches so we don’t have an assessment of. In fact, the curator himself was confused about how the pitch was going to play, how much grass to remove, and how much to leave on. If he’s confused imagine how confused we must be?! Which is why I have been harping about staying in the moment and adapting on the fly. We have the assess the pitch as quickly as we possibly can and then we have to figure a way around it.
While that process of adaptation is itself cumbersome because batters are rather used to having conditions work in their favour, another factor which might play a part in how the batters go about their role is when they suffer the very real threat of getting injured.
In India’s game against Ireland, at least three batters were struck on the body, including Rohit who retired hurt after a hit to his shoulder.
"It’s tough but that’s where experience counts,” he said when asked about how one puts behind a body blow to focus on the next delivery and trust the pitch thereafter. “The reason we are representing the country is because we're tough, we're mentally great that’s why we were picked from a population of 1.4 billion. At the highest level, these blows don’t count.
“That is one of the only reasons we won the Test at the Gabba a few years ago. We got hit a lot but we ignored the pain and pushed ourselves. Those conditions were not good either but we had a job to do and we did it. That’s exactly how it will be here too. We’re representing the nation, these body blows are secondary."
As for Sunday’s opponents, Rohit insisted that he was looking at the game as just another game, and that is significant enough. “We have played them thrice in the last seven months (Asia Cup, World Cup and now), and so we have a good gauge on them, and we’re not lost to the hype like it used to be before. Everyone has their process, but I stay in the present and focus on what I need to do to get the best out of my team,” he said.
At the same time, Rohit was aware of the threat Pakistan pose. “T20 cricket is fickle. Anything can happen on any given day so just because they lost against the US doesn’t mean they can’t come back strong. I remember they had lost to Zimbabwe in the 2022 T20 World Cup, but they made it to the final eventually. They are a quality side and we have to respect them but we don’t have to spend too much time focusing on what they bring to the table. Instead, we have to work on ourselves and stay zoned in.
ON PANT’S PROMOTION
"I had to look at Rishabh’s games during the Indian Premier League to know where he was going to play in the World Cup. I had seen enough after the first couple of games that he was going to come in at No.3. The kind of ability he has, it’s tough to find the right number for him but when we have three right-handers in the top four, it’s nice to throw in a quality left-hander. Also, spin will play a part later in the tournament so we wanted someone in the middle to go and play freely and take on the spinners. I would like to give him the space to play more deliveries. Besides the openers, none of the guys' positions are fixed as such. This message has been given to them. From No.3 to No.7 we will be flexible."