Rohit Sharma was picked in the Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. But, the Mumbai Indians captain played major part of the Indian Premier League 2017 at number four. But, he believes that it won’t be a problem in the Champions Trophy and he will adapt easily.
“IPL is different from international cricket. I spoke before the start of IPL that to give balance to the team I will bat lower down. I don’t know why people compare the two (situations),” he said. “It has happened for 10 years – players going on to play Test cricket or 50 over games after IPL. I don’t think it’s going to be difficult to adapt in this age. All it needs is to develop the mindset.”
Mumbai Indians won the IPL 2017 title by beating Rising Pune Supergiant by one run in the final in Hyderabad. This was the third title for Mumbai and fourth for Rohit. He said that this was one of the best he had played in.
“I can’t single out any one of these. Last night’s T20 game was one of the best I had played. I am very happy. No team has won the IPL thrice before. It’s a very big achievement and we have to take this confidence forward,” he said.
Captaining the Mumbai side to the title, Rohit scored 333 runs in 17 games and said that the captaincy has helped him a lot.
“It (captaincy) does help me a lot. Last year, we had a tough time and could not qualify for the play-offs, but we knew we had the players to do well this year and they delivered. The attitude of the players remained the same whether we won or lost. As captain I love to inspire teams as much as I can,” he said.
After 2015 title, which Mumbai won under coach Ricky Ponting, they won the 2017 title under coach Mahela Jayawardene and Rohit said that both had different approaches.
“Both are different. Both have vast experience of international cricket and deep knowledge about the game. Both were captains of their respective countries and I learned a lot of things from them. This is where IPL is so good, in bringing together a mix of international players from different countries,” he said.
Next year, IPL will undergo a big auction and many players will be picked by different teams but Rohit said he would like to remain with Mumbai.
“I would love to play for my state franchise. I have played all my cricket in Mumbai and lived here all my life. We would also be happy to retain the whole squad.”
The captain also Hardik and Krunal for their experessiveness on the field. Krunal was the man-of-the-match in the final.
“They are very experessive players who love to express themselves on the field. Krunal has batted at different positions for us and has shown a lot of maturity. He’s a brilliant (left arm slow) bowler. He’s a great prospect for Indian cricket.”
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
