Rohit Sharma plays down India's poor Asia Cup form ahead of World Cup

Since winning the ODI World Cup at home in 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy two years later, India have failed to win a global event

Updated - September 08, 2022 09:01 am IST

Published - September 07, 2022 05:08 pm IST

India’s captain Rohit Sharma during the Asia Cup match between Sri Lanka and India, in Dubai

India’s captain Rohit Sharma during the Asia Cup match between Sri Lanka and India, in Dubai | Photo Credit: AP

Successive defeats by Pakistan and Sri Lanka have left India on the brink of exiting the Asia Cup but captain Rohit Sharma is not concerned about their form ahead of next month's T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka defeated defending champions India by six wickets with a ball to spare in a Super Four match on Tuesday at the continental T20 tournament, which is being held in the United Arab Emirates.

ALSO READ: A series within a tournament, a grand opera with supporting acts

Rohit's team also lost to arch-rivals Pakistan in their first Super Four match, and India's hopes of making Sunday's final depend on other results going in their favour.

Since winning the 50-overs World Cup at home in 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy two years later, India have failed to win a global event.

"In tournaments like Asia Cup and World Cup, where there are multiple opponents, there is more pressure," Rohit told reporters. "In a bilateral series you play against the same opposition for three-five matches so you can plan better.

"Our job is to guide the players in making better decisions in pressure situations."

‘Team is 90-95% settled for WC’: Rohit

Just over a month out from the T20 World Cup in Australia, Rohit said there will be very few changes to the squad.

"The team is 90-95% settled. Few changes will happen, that's about it," he said.

"There are lot of questions that we need to answer and in the last three or four series that we've played, we've found some answers. There will be a time where we will draw the line and we'll say this is the combination that we're going to play."

Spirits not dampened

The Asia Cup defeats had not dampened the squad's spirits, said Rohit.

"All the players are relaxed and chilled," added Rohit, who bats at the top of the order. We want to maintain an atmosphere in the dressing room which does not change based on a win or a loss. There's nothing lacking as such, the team has quality. We have played and won so many matches."

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.