CHENNAI: The monkey is never off the back. The albatross of the ICC trophy that had been hanging around the neck of Indian cricket for a decade might have been dealt with on the shores of Barbados a couple of months ago, but that doesn’t mean Rohit Sharma & Co.can breathe easy.
The captain has dealt with pressure for a long time now and he knows that everything will be forgotten in a hurry if a result goes wrong here and there.
“I don’t know how it works for other countries, but for India it is a different ballgame. If we don’t win the bilateral series (against Bangladesh), we know how it works. The (negative) talk will start happening all over again. So for us, it can never be that now we have won an ICC trophy, we can relax and enjoy,” Rohit said ahead of a practice session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
On Thursday, the Test series against Bangladesh will start. It is the first stop towards India’s push for a place in the WTC Final.
Rohit knows that he doesn’t have a lot of time on his side – he is 37 now – and this may well be his last chance to win the WTC title.
“For us cricketers, we’ve got limited time to play the game, to make an impact in the sport. So, you’ve got to try and do your best, try and possibly win everything you can, whatever is in front of you,” the skipper said.
Just as the WTC Final tune kept playing through the interaction, the discussions around the impending Australia series also came up. But Rohit kept reminding one and all that it is important to stay in the moment.
“It doesn’t matter where we play in two months’ time, we want to win here. In modern-day cricket, a break of one month is a long time, so it’s nice to have everyone back and then start the season on a high,” Rohit said.
While the core of the Indian team has remained more or less the same over the last few years, it’s the exterior that has changed. Rahul Dravid, with whom Rohit used to share great camaraderie, is gone and it’s Gautam Gambhir who is in charge now.
The new coach, along with his new support staff of Abhishek Nayar, Morne Morkel and Ryan ten Doeschate, have come in with fresh ideas and it is the Indian skipper’s turn to adapt.
“I have known Gautam and Abhishek very well over the years. And against Morne, I have played a lot of very tough cricket. As far as Ryan goes, what I experienced in Sri Lanka (during an ODI series last month), I felt he is a very sensible and understanding personality. Having said that, these people will be different from Rahul bhai, Vikram Rathour and Paras Mhambrey. Their way of running the team will be different and having played 17 years under different coaches, I know that. It is very important for you to understand that every coach comes in with a different perspective and different methods. So it is very important for you to adjust,” Rohit said.
While the Mumbai right-hander seemed pretty chilled out about most issues, there seemed to be a bit of history with him and Bangladesh, something that dates back to the 2015 ODI World Cup.
When asked about the opposition, the captain quipped: “Look, all the teams want to defeat India. Let them have fun, but our job is to win the match. When England came here, they also talked a lot in press conferences. But we did not focus on that.”