Hyderabad: Indian captain Rohit Sharma said he would focus more on his team instead of England’s plots in the opening Test beginning here on Thursday.
“We will play our cricket. I am not interested in looking at how the opposition is gonna play. For us it’s important to focus on what we need to do as a team and then take it from there,” Rohit said on match eve.
“You need to be very clear in your mind and have a game plan when you’re playing in these conditions and then back that plan, whether it’s to defend tightly or to play some shots like sweep, reverse sweep, whatever that is,” he added.
The Mumbai man lauded local boy Mohammed Siraj for his contribution to his side on recent tours. “For us Siraj is one of our important players. Siraj in the last couple of years has come up through the ranks and has proved himself in the various conditions. He is performing really well and has taken his game to another level for sure,” the 36-year-old said.
Rohit feels that for Ravichandran Ashwin this series is no different and he will put the side ahead like always. “Obviously Ashwin, we know his class, we know his quality. Every time he plays the game for us, he tends to impress all of us by a notch. We do appreciate that. Every time he’s gotten an opportunity, he’s made sure to put the team ahead. He’s shown it for a number of years now,” said Rohit.
Speaking about the selection of the third spinner Rohit said the option between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav is a (good) headache for him and the team management. “To be honest Kuldeep gives you a certain X-factor with his bowling. We have been seeing how well he is bowing. Specially, if the wicket has bounce or if it doesn’t have bounce, Kuldeep still becomes quite a factor in those types of conditions as well, because he’s got superb variations. Obviously, he is a very mature bowler now from what he was a few years back,” Rohit said.
“He not played a lot of Test cricket in India because of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. That is what happens, we have seen it in the past as well with our middle-order... a lot of us got an opportunity pretty late. But that’s the reality of it,” Rohit added.
“Axar, you know, with his all round ability, gives us that batting depth. The consistency that he’s shown, playing in these conditions in Test cricket, also is an important factor for us. Like I said clearly it was a bit of a headache to decide who it is going to be for us. I am not going to say who it is. It was a challenge for us to make that decision. We got quality around our spin bowling department which is a good sign,” Rohit said.
Rohit is happy about his team’s condition and confidence to face Ben Stokes & Co. “The atmosphere in the changing room at this point of time is pretty good and that is what happens when you win games. The Test in Cape Town against South Africa gave us a lot of confidence. Nothing is better than winning games... it gives you lots of confidence moving forward,” he said.
