Skipper’s word: Bharat will not be judged by a couple of poor shows with the bat, assured Rohit.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
Ravi Shastri did not mince words after India suffered a nine-wicket defeat in the third Test against Australia in Indore last week. “This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do when you take things for granted, you drop your guard, and this game will bring you down,” Shastri had said during his commentary stint.
On the eve of the fourth and final Test, India captain Rohit Sharma rubbished talks of complacency creeping in.
“When you win two games, if the people outside feel that we are over-confident, it’s absolutely rubbish. You want to do your best in all four games, you don’t want to stop after just winning two games. It’s as simple as that,” Rohit said on Wednesday.
“Ruthless is the word that comes to my mind and every cricketer’s mind, and not to give an inch to the opposition when they are touring. That’s exactly what we have experienced when we have toured,” he said.
“The opposition will never let you come into the game or series, and that’s the mindset we have as well. We want to do our best in all the games. If it seems over-confidence or anything like that for outsiders, it doesn’t matter to us,” said Rohit. “Ravi himself has been in this dressing room, and he knows what mindset we have.”
About how he approaches an innings, Rohit said: “You need to adapt to your strength. Your strength will be different than others. So, I stick to my plan.”
Longer rope for Bharat
The India captain also stressed that youngsters like K.S. Bharat would be given a longer rope and won’t be judged based on a couple of poor shows with the bat. Bharat has scored only 57 runs in five innings in this series.
“Bharat has played a lot of domestic cricket and scored a lot of runs. It would be slightly unfair to judge him on these kinds of pitches. You got to give him enough room to set himself up for a big score, especially when someone is making his debut,” he said.
Rohit revealed that he had had a word with Ishan Kishan as well. “When he gets his chance, he will get the number of games. We will not drop him after playing just two Test matches. It will be unfair, and that’s what we are trying to do with Bharat,” Rohit said.
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