Equipment India Captain Rohit Sharma spoke openly about what it is like to be the captain of the national team and termed it a privilege to be included alongside some legends of the game. While talking to Dinesh Karthik at Jio Cinema, Rohit spoke about many things which also included the topic of his centuries in the 2019 Cricket World Cup going in vain.
He is currently leading the team in the ongoing 5-match Test series against England which began today at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma’s team had to bowl first after losing the toss and were able to bowl the visitors out for 246 thanks to Ashwin-Jadeja’s 3 wickets each and the pair of wickets from Bumrah and Axar Patel.
In response, India are currently trailing by 127 runs thanks to a start from Yashasvi Jaiswal who is currently in the crease for a quick 76 off 70 balls. While trying to match his intensity, Rohit Sharma got out after playing a lofted shot on the pitch between mid-off.
Rohit hit the ball quite high in the air off a ball from Jack Leach and Ben Stokes completed a simple catch. The 36-year-old departed after scoring 24 off 27, which also included 4 boundaries. Although he would not be satisfied with his performance, he will be happy to see Jaiswal doing the job for the team.
And it was exactly the topic he spoke about while speaking to Dinesh Karthik in the run-up to the first Hyderabad Test. Rohit Sharma explained that he doesn’t like to judge players based on statistics and that he likes to back players who put the needs of the team before their own individual milestones.
He also spoke about the captaincy and how it has gone for him so far, stating that he was very excited when he was first presented with the opportunity.
“It’s pretty exhausting, but that’s what you sign up for. When you take responsibility, I think when I was presented with the opportunity to lead the team, I was excited. In the last 7 or 8 years, I have been part of that core decision-making group, vice-captain. I coached in Virat’s absence a few times when he wasn’t there, but yes, it’s obviously a big honor to captain your country,” Rohit said.
“I want to completely eliminate the statistics of this team,” says Rohit Sharma
One of the highlights of his captaincy has been the fact that Rohit Sharma has always backed his players even in difficult times. And it is something he believes should be the case in the future and he has tried to ease the pressure on the players by not focusing on the statistical side of the game, claiming that trophies are more important.
“I wanted to bring a certain change. The players go out and play with a lot of freedom, that statistical side of cricket. I want to get him completely off this team. People don’t look at the numbers. People don’t look at their personal scores and just play. The numbers are overrated. In India we talk a lot about numbers and all that. But yes, I scored a fiver in the 2019 World Cup, but kya hua uska, haar gaye na (but what happened? We still lost),” Rohit Sharma concluded.