The veteran Indian batsman, Rohit Sharma reckons that the New Zealand bowling attack has teh capability to execute their plans almost with perfection which makes them one of the toughest places to play cricket. After three centuries, including a double ton against South Africa in his first Test series as an opener, Rohit will be facing an attack comprising Neil Wagner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult and Tim Southee in the two-match Test series in Wellington and Christchurch in February.
During a recent interview with PTI, Rohit said, “New Zealand is not the easiest place to play cricket. But this bowling attack of ours is completely different from what we had back then. For me personally, it’s going to be a challenge, without a doubt, facing the new ball bowlers and the guys who bowl in the middle overs. Of course, it’s a lot tougher outside India. But I know what to expect as I have been there the last time (2014 series).”
Rohit said he was closely following the recently concluded New Zealand’s series against Australia. Even though New Zealand was whitewash 0-3, he feels their bowling unit left no stone unturned in making it difficult for the Australian batsmen.
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When asked about his own game, Sharma said he could have decided on opening in Tests much earlier, but he is happy that whatever is going on in his career right now is in his favor. He can’t change the past, but he is happy for getting an opportunity to open as he has enjoyed batting up the order.
The fact that Rohit understands his batting much better than earlier is the reason why he was able to score 2442 runs across formats in 2019. However, he isn’t bothered about India’s six-year drought at the ICC as he is hopeful of the fact that things will change for the better as soon as the younger crop of cricketers plays together for a considerable amount of time.
Rohit explained, “Things are changing now. Shreyas (Iyer) is No.4 now and he is doing pretty well. Rishabh (Pant) did well in the West Indies ODIs. So, I am confident, our youngsters will step up. The problem is that between KL (Rahul), Rishabh, Shreyas, and Shivam, they haven’t played many matches together as a team. But that will happen now and once that happens, they will get some confidence.”
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Rohit also went on to praise Iyer and Rahul, who has been playing more fearlessly after making their respective positions their own.
The Indian opener explained, “Shreyas knows that he will now bat at No.4 for years to come. He feels secure and can now execute his plans freely. KL has had a good time and will go in with a good mindset moving forward. We can’t really judge them as a group after two or three matches. We need to wait until they have played sufficient matches together.”
