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Bangladesh vs India 2022: Rohit Sharma says India will narrow down options closer to World Cup 2023

Skipper Rohit Sharma doesn't want to clutter things by "thinking too far ahead" about the ODI World Cup and said he and head coach Rahul Dravid have a "fair idea" of how they would approach the showpiece to be held in India in October-November next year.

Bangladesh vs India 2022: Rohit Sharma says India will narrow down options closer to World Cup 2023 snt
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First Published Dec 3, 2022, 5:59 PM IST

Rohit Sharma, the Indian team's captain, said he and head coach Rahul Dravid have a "fair idea" of how they will approach the ODI World Cup, which will be hosted in India in October and November of next year, but he doesn't want to clutter things by "thinking too far ahead" about it.

When asked if the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, which begins here on Sunday, marks the start of World Cup preparations, Rohit made it clear that there is still time until his side can start thinking explicitly about the major event.

"Every time you play a game, it's preparing for something. The World Cup is still 8-9 months (10 months) from now. We can't think so far ahead. We need to keep an eye on what we need to do as a team," Rohit told media persons ahead of the first ODI.

He warned that planning ahead too soon won't be helpful but he also made it clear that the team's think tank is aware of the path it needs to take.

"It is very, very important for us not to start thinking about so many things. Like, we need to play this guy or that guy. Me and coach (Dravid) have a fair idea of what to do. We will narrow it down once we come closer to the World Cup," he added.

Also read: Bangladesh vs India 2022: Injured Shami ruled out of ODIs, Umran Malik to replace him

Workload management must with some on road for two and half months

The captain underlined the need for workload management because some players, including wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, will be on the road for over two and a half months during this Bangladesh series. He acknowledged that a lot of cricket is being played and that it won't end. The team and everyone around it must act appropriately.

"As professionals, we have to keep up the intensity. Yes, there's a lot of cricket and that's why we give them breaks. And people need to understand that when we give players a break, it is only to manage the workload keeping the bigger picture in mind. Cricket is not going to stop. There will always be lot of cricket and we need to manage our players. You want your best players to play with higher intensity all the time. So it is important to give them breaks, manage them as freshness is very important," Rohit elaborated.

He then gave a peek into his team's gruelling schedule during the past few months. "Lot of the guys have been on the road before the World Cup, and we had two back-to-back series versus Australia and South Africa. And then, we went straight to Australia. It has already been two and a half months. It is impossible in this day and age that you will always play with your best 15. It's not going to happen," he was blunt.

(With inputs from PTI)

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