Rohit Sharma: 'Want to make sure that India's future is in safe hands'

By Team Newsable | First Published Aug 9, 2022, 9:53 PM IST

India has been doing good under Rohit Sharma and eyes the ICC T20 World Cup glory after a sorry outing last year. Meanwhile, he wants to ensure that Team India has a dependable bench strength.

With cricket being played round the year, India skipper Rohit Sharma feels that having a reliable bench strength is central, and the team desires to build one with an eye on destiny. Since its shock group-stage elimination in the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India has been experimenting with its squads, while injury and workload management has also played its part.

"We play a lot of cricket, so there will be injuries and workload management, so we have to rotate players. But, it gives our bench strength to go and play the game, which is why we could try so many other guys who are ready to take that international stage and perform," Rohit told on Star Sports.

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"We want to create our bench strength. We want to make sure that India's future is in safe hands. That's the planning that we are trying to have," added Rohit. He is now gearing up to lead India in the upcoming T20WC in Australia, but India has to deal with the Asia Cup T20 2022 before it.

Rohit voiced that the objective should be to improve as a team daily. "I don't know what to expect, but for me mainly, it's about getting better every day as a team. Whether you win or lose the series, that cannot take priority. What should take precedence is if we are getting better as a team," he reckoned.

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"The team's goal is important and then parts in it where the individuals come into play and play a role in the team's success. But, whatever the team is trying to do, the individuals need to buy into that thought process and work towards that direction," continued Rohit.

While Rohit succeeded Virat Kohli as India's captain across formats, the team also had a new coach at last year's T20WC, with Ravi Shastri making way for Rahul Dravid. Incidentally, the latter was the Indian captain when Rohit made his ODI debut. Rohit spoke about the dialogues they have had since taking over the reins of the side.

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"When he became the coach, we met and sat together in a room for a while and decided how we wanted to take this team forward. He was pretty much in the same thought process as me. That made it easier for me to give out a clear message to the boys because the coach and captain always need to be on the same page for the team to move in the same direction," Rohit revealed.

"One thing we have decided and have in common is we want to send the right messages, and we don't want to create any confusion in the group. That's something we spoke about, and of course, we wanted to change the style of cricket as well. We wanted to play in a certain way in all three formats, and he was ready to accept all of that," concluded Rohit.

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