Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, was the most crucial player in the team’s run to the semifinals of the last World Cup. He scored a record-breaking five centuries, overtaking Kumar Sangakkara’s four in the 2015 edition. While a lot has changed in terms of team composition, leadership, and support staff since then, Rohit feels that not much has altered personally for him.

“I know what are the things that I need to do to find success on the field in terms of me as a player and then me as a captain. But speaking of just the player first, the batter, I think there are certain boxes for me that I have to tick before every game just to get you that confidence. For me, preparation is very important. And I thought I’ve done everything that I can from my side to prepare well for each game,” Rohit said on the eve of India’s match against Pakistan in the ongoing World Cup.

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He further added, “What you’ve done in the past, what you’ve done yesterday, doesn’t really matter too much. You can take a bit of confidence from that, but like we know in sport, every day is a fresh day. You play different opposition and they bring you new challenges. And you just got to be ready to face that challenge. So, I think for me as a batter, that is something that I’ve really focused on, getting myself ready in however way I can, and whatever it takes for me to get ready for any game.”

Speaking about the crowd factor against Pakistan, when over 100,000 fans are expected to pack the stadium, Rohit Sharma played down the pressure of expectations.

Elaborating the same, the Indian skipper said, “I don’t think there is any disadvantage. You feel nice about playing in front of your home crowd. They get behind you no matter what the situation of the game is. My overall experience playing, not just in India, even outside India, we get massive support.”

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He included by saying, “So, I look at this as a good advantage, big advantage. But we know that eventually it boils down to playing good cricket. And whatever it takes to win the game, you’ve got to do that. So yes, you can use the support, but eventually, you’ve got to play good cricket to win the game.”