T20 WORLD CUP: Rohit Sharma says India focused on semifinal against England not decade-long trophy drought
India captain Rohit Sharma has urged his side not to let the pressure of their decade-long trophy drought distract them from the task at hand in their T20 World Cup semi-final against England.
The game’s financial powerhouses have failed to deliver a major global trophy since 11 years ago, finishing runners-up in the 2014 edition of this tournament, two World Test Championships, the Champions Trophy in 2017 and last year’s 50-over World Cup.
They have also experienced their share of semi-final heartache as the hunt for silverware goes on, but Rohit wants his side to take on England in Guyana on Friday with nothing but the match itself on their minds.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Having won all six completed matches so far in this campaign, he sees no reason to let the bigger picture knock his team off stride.
“Everyone knows in the back of their mind it’s a semi-final, but you don’t want to keep talking about it again and again and again,” Rohit said.
“We want to treat this game as any another game that we have played in this tournament. We don’t want to think about what lies ahead and what is the context of the game and all of that.
“The entire group is in a good frame of mind, we are playing well as a team, enjoying each other’s company and enjoying each other’s success.
“I think it’s important to just carry on that, carry on from what we’ve been doing in this tournament.
“We don’t want to be thinking too far ahead, which is the final, we don’t want to think about all of that. It’s a knockout game.
“Sometimes if you think too much, sometimes you then will not be able to make the decisions that you want to make on the field.”
The nature of the pitch, where spin bowlers have tended to thrive, has handed India a potential edge over England, and there has been some speculation they could go all in.
They already have a trio of spinners in their XI, with allrounder Ravindra Jadeja backing up Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, but they have also been carrying legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal as back-up.
If he was to get a chance anywhere, it would be at the Providence Stadium against England.
“Teams bring five seamers in the squad and that doesn’t mean they will play all five seamers,” Rohit said.
“There is no secret. If we will feel it necessary to play four spinners then we will play them, but we will assess and see what is the right combination.”
