India captain Rohit Sharma described his team’s preparations ahead of the much anticipated Asia Cup 2022. India are to face arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 in the tournament and it is much needed that India should showcase their dominance especially after Pakistan defeated them by 10-wickets in 2021 T20 World Cup.
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Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’, India skipper said, “We’ve made it very clear after the T20 World Cup in Dubai, where we didn’t qualify for the finals — that we felt there needed to be a change in our attitude and approach in how we play our game.”
Lately, Team India has adopted a more aggressive batting approach that is helping the batters to play more freely and confidently. Sharma highlighted that their focus is preparing both mentally and physically for the two big tournaments – Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.
“If the message is clear from the captain and the coach about where the team is trying to head, then the individuals will definitely try to do that. For that to happen they need freedom and clarity and that’s what we are trying to do. We are trying to give them as much freedom as possible.”
The present India team has a balanced combination of youngsters and experienced players. The team also has a lot of young leaders who have taken the charge of team and helped them in winning tough matches.
Sharma said, “I know it’s very exciting honestly to create so many leaders around the team because it’s always a good sign. And you want the guys to handle the pressure, who understand the game and know each other really well. And when they are leading the team, all these things can happen.”
Currently, in the past eight months, India have opted for six different captains and each of them have shone in their leadership skills. They have led the team confidently and have won matches as well.
“I think it’s very important to have that leadership, but obviously, you know we play the IPL and it’s a 10- team tournament. So there will be 10 captains which at some stage will be a part of the Indian team as well. You know, I think it’s fantastic because honestly my job is much lesser as these guys understand everything pretty well. So, it’s just about if someone’s having a thought, how am I going to backup that thought. For me as captain that is my role and that is what I’m trying to do,” he said.
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The ‘Hitman’ also credited India coach Rahul Dravid for his constant support to the team. He said that it’s always a great learning from Dravid and going ahead to the bog tournaments, his guidance would matter a lot.
“With Rahul bhai I have played some games with him as he was my first captain when I made my ODI debut. So, obviously we have some kind of understanding. I have spent a lot of time in the NCA when I was injured and he was there. We had regular chats happening all the time and he was closely following my game as well,” he said.
Sharma also mentioned the how common vision and belief between him and the coach helps the whole unit to succeed and perform well.
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Skipper said, “When he (Dravid) became a coach here, we met and sat together in a room for a while and decided how we want to take this thing forward and he was pretty much on the same thought process as to what I was thinking. That made it a little easier for me to give out a clear message to the boys because we don’t want to create confusion among the group; and of course, we wanted him to change the style of cricket as well. We wanted to play a certain way in all three formats and he was ready to accept all of that.”
Asia Cup 2022 is about to begin in just a few days and the responsibility to defend the title and win another Asia Cup trophy resides on Indian captain’s shoulders.
Fans can watch Star Sports show ‘Follow The Blues’ every Sunday at 9 AM to catch all the news and behind the scenes action from Team India’s dressing room
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