Can’t take any game lightly: Rohit Sharma
First Published : 17 Sep 2012, 17:36
Last Modified : 17 Sep 2012, 18:01
Chennai, Sep 17: It was never Rohit Sharma’s talent that was in question but his struggle to convert starts into big scores and finishes that had left the onlookers perplexed in recent times.
His lack of runs that had baffled experts wasn't something to lose sleep over as far as his teammates were concerned. The batsman had looked in good nick and was timing the ball sweetly in the nets. His fluency with the bat was such that during the tour to Sri Lanka in July-August 2012, senior statesman, Gautam Gambhir said, “Whenever we see Rohit batting in the nets he is batting the best to be honest amongst all of us. So it is just a matter of time before he will be amongst runs. But we need to show faith in him because he is a quality player and I see him scoring lot of runs for India in the future.”
The team and management rallied around the youngster and skipper, MS Dhoni, persisted with Rohit even as his place in the side was questioned by critics.
Although he did not make an impression in England and Australia last season, his Man of the Series performance against the West Indies, in India late last year, was proof of his ability. It will, therefore, be just a matter of time before Sharma once again entertains with his sublime batting skills.
Although he missed out on the World Cup last year, the batsman has been selected for the 2012 ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka. With the pressure to perform rising as he finds himself in the middle of debates concerning his place in the side, the youngster is working hard to try and ensure that he fulfills his potential. His half-century against Pakistan in the World T20 warm-up game was a glimpse of what he is capable of delivering on his day.
Speaking to bcci.tv before heading to the Emerald Isles, Sharma briefly talked about his batting and his efforts to ensure that he doesn’t repeat past mistakes.
Excerpts:
On the pressure to perform
Every time you go out to play, there is pressure of performance. You can’t take any game lightly. It is the nature of cricket [and] if you take it lightly it can put you on the back foot. So, I feel whenever you get an opportunity as a player you go and try to perform as best as you can; but it’s not in your hands that you will get the result you want every time you go out in the middle. But what I can do is, I can put everything into it; I can give my 100 percent. That is one thing which is in my hand and I will try to do that.
On whether he has been doing anything differently
I have been working a little bit on my technique also. In the 25 days that I got after the tour to Sri Lanka, I tried and made full use of it. I went to Bangalore for a while, I was in Bombay at indoors [academy] and I have been watching my videos. I want to see what went wrong in Sri Lanka and I don’t want to repeat that mistake again. I feel you will only get better if you don’t repeat the mistakes again and again. I will try and do that. Rest I will leave to God.
On whether he has made any specific changes to his batting
No specific changes. There have been little things like basic technique to keep your head straight as much as possible and bring your bat straight while you are hitting the ball. I have spoken to a lot of people about this and they have given me some positive thoughts, so let’s see how it works out. I have spoken to lot of people, [including] obviously my coach and lot of senior players. So hopefully, their suggestions will come in handy.
On whether the series in Sri Lanka helped
It will be a huge help because we will have an idea of what we are going to get there. I saw a bit of Sri Lankan Premier League also to see how the wicket is behaving. The conditions will be more or less similar to what we get in India. It’s not going to be that different. It’s of course going to be humid, so it is good to get a game in Chennai and get used to the humidity here and then go to Sri Lanka.
On the importance of the T20I against NZ in Chennai
In terms of preparation before the World Cup, this is an ideal game for us to get into the groove and see where we stand before the World Cup.
