Rohit Sharma faces his biggest test as India’s red-ball captain when his side comes up against a determined Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series which starts on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the first match, Rohit said that he is expecting an evenly contested series. “We have four solid test matches to play in the BGT and we would want to win the series. It is going to be a challenging series and we have to be up for it. Preparation is the key. If you prepare well, you get results.”
On selection headaches, he said, “It is tough. The guys are in good form, pushing for a spot and doing really well, and it is tough to leave some out. We will take brave calls.”
“But it is a good sign overall that all the guys are performing well and in with a chance for selection. But we will see the conditions and pick teams accordingly. Different pitches would need different skillset. The message is clear, we would take horses for course and all options are open.”
When asked about Australian media talking about doctored pitches, the Indian captain said, “Just focus on cricket and not the pitch. After all the 22 guys out there are all quality players.”
Rohit also spoke on the importance of playing spin and said, “It is important to have a plan and figure a way. Everyone has a different method. Some like to sweep some reverse some hitting over the bowler. You need to rotate strike and sometimes you need to counterattack.
“The captains would obviously try different things and change fields and bowlers. So you need to plan and play accordingly.”
Rohit also spoke about the absence of Rishabh Pant and said, “Obviously we will miss Pant with the contributions he had made in the middle order. We need someone to bat like him not just in the middle order but also the top order.”
Gill and Surya
“Both have been terrific and both bring different thing. Gill obviously has been in great form and scoring heavily in all formats. Surya has been in terrific form in the T20 and hopefully he can bring that game into this format as well.”
Depth of spinners
“All four bring in a lot of different qualities. Not to forget three of them are quality allrounders too. And Kuldeep Yadav scored precious runs in Bangaldesh.”