Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has said they are trying everything to be ready for the upcoming ODI World Cup. Rohit admitted it is imperative to be consistent for a month if the team has to go all the way in the ODI showpiece.
India had qualified for the semifinals of the 2015 and 2019 World Cup but were knocked out by Australia and New Zealand respectively. In fact, India last won a major ICC title back in 2013 when they lifted the Champions Trophy after beating England in the final.
Since then, India has played consistently in major events but has lacked the killer punch in the knockout matches. Furthermore, injury to key players like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer is also a major concern for the team.
“2015 and 2019, I was a part of it, which felt really good to play the World Cup. We went to the semi-finals, tried everything we could to go to the finals and play well in the finals, but again, a very unfortunate incident where we couldn’t go through to the finals,” Rohit Sharma told ICC.
Meanwhile, India had gone all the way in the 2011 World Cup when they played in their own conditions and Rohit Sharma and Co. will be looking to replicate the same success.
“But hopefully, you know, we are back home again, so hopefully we can turn things around and it’s still a long way to go. And you know you can’t win the World Cup in one or two days. You got to play well for an entire month, a month and a half, and be consistent. So you know, we are trying everything we can, from our perspective to make sure we are ready for the World Cup.”
Rohit also shared his disappointment after he was not selected for the 2011 World Cup squad but showered praise on the team for going all the way.
“2011 (World Cup) was a memorable one for all of us, I remember watching it from home, every single match, every single ball which was being bowled and that was being played. There were two kinds of emotions, one was obviously I was not a part of it, so I was a little disappointed. I decided I was not going to watch the World Cup, but again, the second memory I remember was that India was playing so well, the quarter-finals onwards,” the skipper recalled.
Rohit added India was at its best in the quarterfinals and semifinals against Australia and Pakistan respectively.
“You know, the big quarter-final was against Australia. I know how the pressure is on all these players when playing these games. I can only imagine the pressure that each player must have gone through at that time, and then the semi-finals against Pakistan. It was a brilliant finish by Yuvi and Raina at the end.”
India will begin their World Cup 2023 campaign against Australia on 8th October at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai but the BCCI could make a few changes to the schedule.
