Rohit Sharma has said that India will treat Thursday’s semifinal against England as just another game and won’t try to emphasise on the fact that it will be a knockout match. The Indian players will strive to forget its context so that there is not much pressure on the team.
“We want to treat this game as another game that we have played in this tournament. We don’t want to think about what lies ahead and what is the context of the game and all of that. Everyone knows in the back of their mind it’s a semi-final. But you don’t want to keep talking about it again and again and again. And not to think about what has happened in the past,” the India skipper said on the eve of the semifinal in Georgetown.
India have won all their games in the World Cup, barring the one against Canada which was washed out in Miami. By thinking too much about the knockout nature of the contest, he felt the players would not be helping themselves. “The entire group is in a good frame of mind. We are playing well as a team, enjoying each other’s company, enjoying each other’s success at times as well. I think it’s important to just carry on from what we’ve been doing in this tournament,” the skipper said.
An ICC Trophy has eluded the Indian team for a while and in recent times, they lost the semifinal of the T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia, the final of the ODI World Cup last year in India and the World Test Championship (WTC) final twice.
“We don’t want to think about the final, which is too far ahead. We want to think about how well we can play and what we can do as a team for us to achieve the result that we are looking for. Sometimes if you think too much, then you will not be able to make the decisions that you want to make on the field. So, I think it’s important that we stay clear in our mind about what we want to do. We have had enough conversations with the players, what is expected out of each one of us. So, it’s time now to just rely on the individual instinct and then take the game forward,” Rohit said of the team’s approach to the contest.
The India skipper dismissed the perception that they have enjoyed advantage by knowing where they will play their semifinal, something England were not privy to. It was a decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that tried to address its biggest commercial constituency. “I don’t think it’s an advantage. I’m sure a lot of these English cricketers have played in this venue. At the end of the day, you’ve got to play good cricket to win a cricket game. The overhead conditions are in nobody’s control.”
Inzamam ul Haq alleged that Arshdeep Singh is tampering the ball to extract reverse swing. “Arshdeep Singh, when he was bowling the 15th over, the ball was reversing. Is it too early for reverse swing with the new ball? This means the ball was ready for reverse swing by the 12th or 13th over. Umpires should keep their eyes open for these things. If it were Pakistani bowlers reverse swinging the ball, this would have been a big issue. We know reverse swing very well, and if Arshdeep can come in the 15th over and start reversing the ball, it means some serious work had been done before,” the former Pakistan captain was quoted as saying by various media outlets.
Rohit replied to the point, saying, “What should I say now about this. You are playing in such hot sun, the wicket is so dry, the ball reverses automatically. It’s happening for all the teams, not just ours. All the teams are reverse swinging. Sometimes, it’s important to open your mind and understand the conditions you’re playing in. The match is not taking place in England or Australia. That’s what I’ll say.”
