Rohit Sharma, the newly-appointed India’s T20I skipper, said the camp will back each and every player, who tries to do something for the side, despite the efforts going in vain.
Rohit’s 56-run knock followed by Axar Patel’s three-wicket haul helped India defeat New Zealand by 73 runs in the third and final T20I here at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Rohit said the goal is to create an atmosphere where players can go and play fearless cricket.
“We are trying to give the players the security so that they can go out there and play fearless cricket. In the first meeting too, we spoke of this very clearly to all the players that if you are trying to do something for the team, that act will never go unnoticed,” said Rohit during the post-match press conference.
“We will always recognise when you are trying to put your hands (up) and take the pressure on yourself and trying to do something for the team.
“The job of the coach and captain is to tell the players that you go and take your chances if it doesn’t come off, we will still back you,” he added.
The India skipper pointed out depth, the side has and said the aim will be to give players as many chances as possible to showcase their skills.
“We will stay consistent with that, we are gonna try and back as much as possible because of the talent that we have in India, it’s not easy, most of the guys sitting outside have also done really well,” said Rohit.
“So you try and fit everyone in the squad and it’s not easy since only 11 can play. It’s always tough but we always try that whenever the players step out they don’t have any excess baggage,” he added.
With this win, India won the three-match series 3-0 and now both teams will square off in two-match Test series, beginning Thursday in Kanpur.
ASHWIN AN ATTACKING OPTION
Sharma said seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has proved himself over the years and is now a key cog in the bowling wheel of the side in the shortest format.
“I think it has been a great comeback for him. Ever since he (R Ashwin) played in Dubai until now. We all know he is a quality bowler, he has proved himself with the red-ball and even with the white-ball his record isn’t bad,” said Rohit in the post-match press conference after India’s series win.
“And now he has made a come back and bowled in Dubai and two games here, it shows the quality he has. He has always been an attacking option for a captain.
“When you have someone like Ashwin in the squad it always gives you an opportunity to take wickets in the middle overs and we understand how important that middle phase is. Axar-Ashwin are wicket-taking options for us in the middle,” he added.
The India skipper pointed out that it is never about bowling your full quota in the shortest format and the bowlers must go for wickets during the middle over phase.
“It’s never about surviving, it is always about how can we get the batter out and how can we put the pressure back on the batter,” said Rohit.
GOOD TO SEE VENKATESH IYER BOWLING
“It’s important to start well. That’s always been my mindset. Once you’ve seen the pitch you know what you’ve got to do. It was nicely coming onto the bat with the dew coming early. We had something planned as a batting group. Wouldn’t say it worked out well. Room for improvement in the middle order. The batting front – KL missed out today but his form is critical. Middle-order didn’t get much opportunity except today. The spinners did the job for us in the entire series. The way Ashwin bowled, Axar. And how Chahal came back. Good to see Venkatesh Iyer bowling those overs with the skills he has,” said Rohit Sharma in a post-match presentation.
“Important for us going forward. I would prefer that going forward, teams around the world bat deep till No.8, No.9.
Harshal, when he plays for Haryana, he opens the batting for them. And then Deepak, we’ve seen what he did in SL. Chahal was looking forward to bat as well. I’ve grown up playing on a concrete pitch back in the day. Once I started opening a lot of things changed. Won’t say it (playing the pull) comes naturally. I’ve practised a lot playing those shots,” he added.