It is necessary to work hard on England’s pitch, Rohit Sharma’s statement came before WTC 2023
London. The Indian team has to face Australia in the final match of the World Test Championship in England from June 7. Before this encounter, Indian team captain Rohit Sharma has said that the pitch in England is such where the batsmen have no other option but to work hard.
Significantly, Indian captain Rohit Sharma scored his only Test century outside the subcontinent in 2021 at ‘The Oval’. Rohit Sharma says there are situations in England where as a batsman one does not feel comfortable at the crease but knows when to be aggressive against the opposition bowlers. Ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia starting on Wednesday, Indian captain Rohit Sharma spoke at an ICC event ‘Afternoon with Test Legends’ here on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma said that I think challenging conditions are created for the batsmen in England. Batsmen have to be ready to deal with these challenges only then the ladder of success can be climbed. Let us tell that earlier in the year 2021, he was India’s best batsman in four Tests against England. However, the performance of other players on this ground has not been special. Virat Kohli averages not even 30 at this ground, while Pujara averages less than 20 at this ground. In such a situation, the concern of Rohit Sharma seems correct.
Talking about his personal experience, the Indian captain, who was seated with Pat Cummins, Ross Taylor and Ian Bell, said, “One thing I realized in 2021 is that you never settle down at the crease and then the weather keeps changing. You have to concentrate for a long time and then you know that now is the time to tune the bowlers. The most important thing is that you have to go to the crease and understand what is your strength.
Over the years with Mumbai Indians and Team India, he pays a lot of attention to numbers and data. Rohit feels knowing the scoring ‘pattern’ of former players who have found success at ‘The Oval’ is not a bad idea. He said, “I will not try to emulate them (successful players) but it would be good to know their ‘pattern’ of scoring runs. I found that square boundaries look very sharp in the oval.
Rohit, who has adapted from one format to another over the past decade, knows it is difficult but he enjoys the challenge and his own ability to tweak his technique as per the need. Rohit said, “Changing the format is definitely a challenging factor. You play in multiple formats. Mentally you have to adapt to change and tweak your technique. You must be mentally prepared.
