All 10 captains pose with the trophy. (PTI)ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Captains’ Press Conference Highlights: Indian cricket team will be dealing with a humongous dose of pressure during the World Cup at home, and captain Rohit Sharma said on Wednesday the time has come for the group to “get secluded” and focus on the job.
There is high amount of anticipation on India to bag their third 50-over World Cup trophy because the Men in Blue’s 2011 victory at their own backyard followed by Australia and England emulating that feat in 2015 and 2019 respectively. So, expectations are on India to maintain that streak.
“I know what is at stake. The guys who are a part of the team know what is at stake. For us, it is about taking everything out and focussing on what we want to do as a team,” said Rohit during ICC’s ‘Captain’s Day’ event.
India captain Rohit Sharma sat down with Devendra Pandey and Sriram Veera for an exclusive chat before the World Cup. You can read the article here.
Follow highlights from the press conference below
For someone who overhauled his game on his own, course-corrected, and has become India captain, Rohit Sharma has a couple of regrets. (PHOTO: PTI)
Temba Bavuma: “I think that’s something that is relevant to all the teams. A lot of the teams have guys who played in India, have done well in India, so I wouldn’t really say it's an advantage for us. I think all we could do is for the guys who have that experience and knowledge; they can share it among the team or use it in terms of our strategies and plans. But I wouldn’t really say it's an advantage unique to us as a team.”
Rohit Sharma: “I have said it from the start, you know, every leader sitting here wants to achieve something really special for their country. It is something that is very highly prized; the 50-Over World Cup is something that I have always dreamt of growing up as a child, and I am sure it is the same for all the guys sitting here as well. One thing I can assure, which I am pretty sure everyone knows, is that people are going to love this tournament here; the stadium is going to be jam-packed because people here in India love their cricket as much as they love their team, but they love their cricket as well. But rest assured, it’s going to be a great tournament.”
Jos Buttler: “The team’s been mainly together for a long time since 2015, since the start of that sort of revolution that you mentioned, and I think you said right through the game. Now in England, young players coming through play a certain way and are determined to carry on the style, and I think we know it gives us the best chance of success. We will get it wrong at times, but we’ve made peace with that, and it’s something we want to continue to strive to do, to keep pushing the boundaries. Other teams will push you and move it on further, so we always want to try and be at the head of that curve as well."
Babar Azam: "We received good hospitality, and we were not expecting this, but I think the way people responded to us, everyone enjoyed it. We are here for a week in Hyderabad, so we do not feel like we are in India; it was like we are at home. We enjoyed and had a lot of fun. It’s good, and I think it's a golden opportunity for everyone to give 100% and enjoy the tournament.”
Pat Cummins: "I don't think there's too many events around the world where you feel like half the world's tuning in to watch and whenever India play Pakistan in a World Cup. It seems like one of those moments. So, although you're personally not involved, you feel like you want to watch it and hear about all the commentary and the passion around the game. So, it's going to be great that it's at this stadium. You can have over 100,000 people.”
Dasun Shanaka: “See, exciting times for us. We have been struggling a lot in the recent past with injuries, but at the same time, we have some good records with us. You know, as a group, we are looking forward to the World Cup. Everyone wants to make a statement, that we are here to perform well in this tournament.”
“He has a niggle. Final call about his availability [for the first match against New Zealand on October 5] will be taken after practice in the evening,” England captain Jos Buttler said on Ben Stokes on the eve of their World Cup opener.
On New Zealand's key players missing out the first game, stand in skipper Tom Latham said, 'Yeah, so obviously no Kane and no Tim as well. He’s [Southee] unavailable for selection just in terms of what happened to his thumb a couple of weeks ago, but he’s recovering nicely. I think he’s nearly two weeks post-surgery so fingers crossed he can keep recovering.' (Read more)
Speaking of captains, growing up in hardship has helped Rohit Sharma appreciate the highs in life without forgetting where he came from; as he prepares to lead India at the World Cup. He tells Sriram Veera and Devendra Pandey how he shields himself from the social media noise, focusing on real bonds with teammates past & present. Read their exclusive chat here.
"We were excited! Cricket is the biggest sport in India so I am not surprised by the excitement. The World Cup is happening in India after 12 years,"
"We were happy to get those days off. Looking at heat, and stuff like that. We have been playing a lot of cricket of late. We played 4 games in the Asia Cup and 3 against Australia. We know where we are at. I would've loved to play those two games. But can't do too much when the weather is like that apart from one part of India to the other part."
A golden generation of England cricketers who have transformed the white ball format template forever will begin their 50-over World Cup title defence against an injury-battered New Zealand in a repeat of the 2019 final on Thursday.
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet their green bills against Jos Buttler’s outfit to add a third World Cup to their shelf in four years, as they are also the current T20 World Cup holders. (How and where to watch here)
Babar Azam: See there is no pressure it is similar to Asian and Pakistani conditions. We are here from a week we have played practice games. There is not a lot of difference here the boundaries are smaller margin of error is little for the bowlers. If there is a bad ball the batter will utilize. Runs will be more you have to play accordingly we try to apply ourselves best on the day we excute our best game on the day
Rohit is asked a question in Hindi about the super close 2019 World Cup final between England and New Zealand.
Jos Butler gets the drift, Babar sitting next to him translates. They have chuckle.
Ravi Shastri: How was the biryani in Hyderabad?
Babar Azam: Sau baari baata chuke hain (Have answered it 100 times)
"As Eoin mentioned earlier there is a level of expectation and pressure comes naturally with Represntin your country in a world Cup and one thing always try and remind the people is to have a level of acceptance that is there that is why the room is full. People have an interest especially here in India where cricket is viewed more than anywhere else in the world. We should enjoy that accept that I am a fan of other sports as well and I know what it is to be watching as a fan and the teams to do well so we keep that as part of something that is there we look after our own dressing room and environment to take pressure away from players and allow them to have fun and express themselves on the field"
Yes, very excited. Before 14th, we have 2 matches and we are strategizing on a match to match basis. IND PAK is always a big match and everyone is waiting for this match.
"I had to work on a lot of things. To be a leader, you need to understand your teammates, their strength and weaknesses and give them the freedom to go out and play. Our job is to make sure we lay that platform for them and then it's their job to go and do what they do best."
"We hit rock bottom before we could do anything in 2015 world Cup in Australia and new Zealand and it was as bad as it gets. Consider England white ball cricket since 1992 it had some really bad times but this was the worst of it with any bad situation comes great opportunity," Eoin Morgan
It is something relevant to all the teams lot of the teams have guys who play in India and have done well in India I wouldn't really say it is an advantage for us all we can really do us is guys who have that experience and knowledge they can share it amongst teams or use it in terms of strength and plans I wouldn't say it is an advantage unique to us as a team
Pat Cummins likes the thinker’s pose. Like the famous statue of Dante contemplating hell, Cummins could be spotted with his right palm on his chin, eyes down and mind lost in a deep thought
Can't say for sure but it does seem like just three captains are wearing watches. Not surprisingly, all from the subcontinent where as you know everything runs on time! Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam and Shakib twisting and turning their watches while others speak. (From Sriram Veera)
We prepared well about last 4 world cups since 2019 we are probably 3rd or 4th team in qualifiers. We have done really well it is time to put on a good show and country is expecting a little more than what we did previously
All captains have neatly done coiffure. South Africa'sTemba Bavuma didn't have to fuss too much about it, of course. And just two have clean shaven faces : Pat Cummins and Jos Buttler. Rest with various shades of beards. Kane Williamson still with the best beard. (From Sriram Veera)
it's quite challenging when you have to play such a form when you have to play 11 games and be on top of your games. So it is important that you break down and focus at one game at a time
A gasp of disbelief first and an applause of admiration next met every stroke of Babar Azam, as he purred along, pulling, driving and even slogging with stupefying grace. When he retired at 90 off 59 balls the crowd embraced an awkward silence before they rang in the applause as if to say, “Welcome to India.” Later, after the warm-up match was over, Australia winning by 14 runs, the crowd massed near the stands behind Pakistan’s dugout and screamed Babar’s name until he left the area.
It could be that India might not be playing a game in Hyderabad, but the audience are past the phase of mourning and beginning to soak in the World Cup fervor, putting aside allegiances and rivalries. Not just Babar, but his colleagues too might have felt the blanket of adulation. None more than Shaheen Afridi. The scattered audience were stretching their limbs to stave off post-meal siesta when the seamer ambled onto the ground for the pre-game stretching. Like the sudden buzz of an alarm, half-awake heads turned and tuned their gaze to the nearly-two-metre frame of Afridi, his tidily-gelled quiff blazing like an aura. Hastily, they converged to a vantage point beside the chain-linked fence. They neither chanted nor yelled out his name, but stood hypnotized. (READ MORE)
“It is amazing. Not often does half the world tune into a game. It is such an occasion. You want not part of it, but you want to watch the passion, the fight, the energy.”
Jos Buttler: “We don’t see ourselves as defending. We are all in the same boat.” (From Sandip G)
Eoin Morgan: Quite simple don't mess it up(gigles) no not at all Jos is an unbelievably well respected player and a world class player and leader within his own right when you pass advice on it is more through lessons that you have learnt yourself through early days of captaincy it is about being yourself and being aunthetic it is about go be himself lead the way Jos Buttler leads not the way any other leader would
LIYAKAT KHAN, a retired Block Development Officer from Haryana’s Nuh district, can’t wait for the India-Pakistan World Cup match in Ahmedabad on October 14, and his reasons aren’t just cricketing. The most-watched match of the mega event will give him a chance to hold his two-year-old granddaughter in his arms for the first time.
It’s been four years since Khan’s daughter, Samiya, got married to Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali in Dubai in 2019. After her wedding, she wasn’t able to make the trip across the border — till now.
“My wife went to Pakistan in 2021 when my daughter was expecting her first child. We will meet again, hopefully, in Ahmedabad. I can’t wait to hold my grandchild,” says Khan, 63, who lives in Chandeni village. (READ MORE)
Ravi Shastri is on stage and welcomes the captains of Afghaniastan and Netherlands first. They give their quick reactions on what it means to lead their teams in the WC
They are followed by Shakid and Shanaka, the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka captains. They are followed by Australia's Pat Cummins and South Africa's Temba Bavuma.
Next up, Rohit Sharma and Babaar Azam make their way on to the stage. They are not asked anything by Shastri. NZ captain Jos Buttler and Kane Williamson rounds it up.
A partition refugee rehabilitation area it might've started out as, but this corner of the capital teems with the 'we can make something out of nothing' spirit that Virat Kohli personifies. Read Sriram Veera's piece on how West delhi shaped Kohli (READ MORE)
Virat Kohli makes plea to friends to not request him for tickets, and ‘enjoy from home’
Team India are tipped to be the favourites to claim the World Cup title. This had led to a lot of pressure on the Indian players... to provide free tickets! (READ MORE)
The World Cup starts from tomorrow. Here's is what India's schedule looks like
Hosts India will be favourites entering the 2023 World Cup and will start their campaign against five-time champions Australia in Chennai. The last time the tournament was held in the sub-continent in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh under the captaincy of MS Dhoni India lifted the trophy after 28 years. (READ MORE)
The last time India won an ICC tournament was in 2013, when M S Dhoni lifted the Champions Trophy. A decade later, captain Rohit Sharma says he wouldn’t allow the decade-long futile Cup chase to pull down his team during the 50-over cricket carnival that starts on Thursday, when defending champions England take on New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
“Yes, we have not won; it’s fine! I’m not a person who overthinks and puts myself in a tough place where I’m not able to make a decision. England started winning now; in 2019 they won the World Cup after so many years. It happens. Australia is the only consistent team who have won. After 2007, they won the ODI World Cup in 2015. They won the T20 World Cup in Dubai,” Sharma told The Indian Express.
Rohit is just days away from his greatest challenge of leading India in a World Cup at home but even back then, the stakes were high, he says with a chuckle. “There was a lot of prize money on offer in those colony games. Cycles, cash prizes, bouquets – and other stuff. As a kid, you wanted to get those things, but fairly. You can’t cheat, and you have to fight those who do.” (READ MORE)
Yet to start. Ravi Shastri, the booming voice of Indian cricket, and Eoin Morgan had a rehearsal a short while back. Just after Shastri had tucked away some pasta. (From Sriram Veera)
Awaiting the 10 captains. A Ranveer Singh starring world cup song and video was just streamed on the screen in the room. 'Dil jashn bole' was the title. The video had Yuzvendra Chahal's wife Dhanashree dancing away merrily. The irony was hard to miss. (From Sriram Veera)