There was a lot of speculation as to whether India’s cricketing big guns—Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul—would feature in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, but the new leadership of the team under Gautam Gambhir has gone for a pragmatic approach. With the Champions Trophy hardly months away, the management knows the limited opportunities available to tune the team and took the chance.
For all this, Rohit Sharma, ever the captain, was quick to dispel any notion of the series being a dress rehearsal for a grander tournament. While acknowledging the team’s desire to experiment, he insisted that international cricket is sacrosanct. If anything, the 37-year-old stalwart made it amply clear that maintenance of India’s high standards was paramount.
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“We’re often asked if these series are dress rehearsals for bigger tournaments,” Rohit Sharma explained. “So let me tell you one thing: this is not a practice ground for us. Every game we play about playing the best cricket. Definitely, we’ll do some things differently in terms of planning, but at the same time, the game’s overall basics remain the same. We’ve come here to win games and play the best brand of cricket.”
“It’s not practice, it’s still an international game. We want to come here, play good cricket and get something out of the series.”
🗣️Rohit Sharma responding to the series being dubbed as ‘preparation’ for something elsehttps://t.co/St3cw4ChUP#SLvIND #Cricket pic.twitter.com/HB6xBK7AlU
— Cricket World (@Cricket_World) August 1, 2024
Therefore, the words of the captain reverberated with equal emphasis on experimentation and excellence. On the other hand, India is precariously treading the rope between experimentation and the prestige of being a strong cricketing nation. Rohit hinted at changes in bowling and batting strategies but emphasized that the team’s performance would not be compromised due to such changes.
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As far as the eleven that would play is concerned, the core of the team appears pretty settled. The only question mark belongs to the wicketkeeper-batter slot, between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. The final call on this will be taken closer to the match day. Finally, Harshit Rana might have to sit out while the experienced trio of Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Khaleel Ahmed forms the pace attack.
