13 October - Ahmedabad - India Captain Rohit Sharma pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
This is like the biggest rivalry in sports, India versus Pakistan. You're playing in Narendra Modi Stadium and you're playing to a predominantly Indian cricket fan base. At what point does home advantage actually become a disadvantage?
[Rohit Sharma:]
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. So, I have so far never experienced where the crowd has gone against us or anything like that. 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.
[Reporter:]
Over 100,000 cheering must be the biggest number for a team. How will it be? Is it a kind of a big boost? And what have you told the boys how to go about it?
[Rohit Sharma:]
No, look, all the guys are quite used to playing in front of big crowds. So, like I just said, now it can only work in your favour. It cannot work against you. A lot of the guys in the team love a big crowd, the cheer, the noise in the ground. So yeah, the boys really enjoy it. Like I said, anywhere we go, people turn out in huge numbers. And that is good for the team and also good for the sport in general as well.
[Reporter:]
Rohit, more than the crowd, I think it will be all the other things that also matter for an India-Pakistan game. You had earlier spoken about just shutting out the noise. How do you do it? You've shut down your phones, you've not taken to Twitter?
[Rohit Sharma:]
I'm not on social media for past nine months now. So, everyone has their own way of dealing with it. Some people like it, some don't. But that's not my place to tell anyone how to do it. They have to work out their own way of dealing with these things. Like I said many times before, in the context of it, yes, it's a massive game. But for us, what is important is, we are playing an opposition tomorrow, which will be quality. So, we’ve just got to come against a quality opposition and play good cricket, which we've done in the last two games. And hopefully we can again show some consistency in our performance and play a good game of cricket.
[Reporter:]
Shubman had a hit at the nets yesterday, so how is he health wise and is he available for selection tomorrow?
[Rohit Sharma:]
99% he is available. We'll see tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
You have been a very prominent member of the team in the last World Cup as well. How much has it changed in the last four years in terms of mental conditioning, technical preparation, and the World Cup? How much has it changed from 2019 to 2023?
[Rohit Sharma:]
Not a lot to be honest. 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've spoken at the start of the World Cup that I need to prepare well to get into the tournament. And I thought I've done everything that I can from my side to prepare well for each game. Because we know every day is a new day, fresh day. And you start your fresh day as a new challenge. 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. They bring you new challenges. And you just got to be ready to face that challenge and confront 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. I have to do that. And I've done that really well mentally, understanding my game, which is very important. And I understood my game, what is my game, and what is the team's requirement from my game and from my ability. So, I think I try and do all of that to the best of my ability. If it comes out, it comes out. If it doesn't, it's OK. As long as I know that before entering the game, I have ticked all the boxes, I'm happy with that.
[Reporter:]
Is a toss going to be important because of the dew now?
[Rohit Sharma:]
Honestly, I don't know how much of a factor it is going to be, because in Delhi, we were expecting dew to come in. It didn't come. Chennai also, it was after probably 30 overs. So, you are done with 75% of the game by then. So, I don't think toss is going to play a massive factor. It is what the team is comfortable doing, whether it is chasing, posting a total, whatever that is. You know, whatever the team is comfortable doing, we try and do that.
[Reporter:]
With the success that you had in Chennai with three spinners, are you going to do the same tomorrow?
[Rohit Sharma:]
I don't know, honestly. I don't know. I still haven't looked at the pitch yet, but we are ready for whatever combination we want to play. That's the challenge going forward for us as a team, depending on what kind of conditions we play in. If there is a change or two, we need to make, we will be ready with that. And the guys have been informed very well in advance about these kind of changes. So, I don't think it's going to be any issues with the players. But if the requirement is there for us to play three spinners, we will play three spinners.
[Reporter:]
You've made a big picture of the game. What do you think is the advantage of playing in the match? Or is it a psychological advantage?
[Rohit Sharma:]
No, I don't think it's a psychological advantage. Because you have to play good cricket every day. So, it's important for us as a team that we, as I said, should not pay too much attention to what is already over. And, we should also pay attention to the fresh day, the fresh opposition. So, both the teams will start evenly. I don't think there is a favourite or an underdog. Both the teams are equal before they go into the game. Just about handling the pressure, dictating terms on your own way. All these things matter. So, I think for us it is more important how we are going into the game – now whether that is bowling first or batting - And then carrying that forward, getting that momentum forward is something that is crucial.
[Reporter:]
[question inaudible]
[Rohit Sharma:]
I have said this many times, that for us, tomorrow's match is a match against the opposition. We will see that match the same way we have seen the last two matches and the upcoming matches. There is no need to think more or less. We will prepare the way we prepare for every game. And the message will be the same for all the boys. There is no need to do anything else.
[Reporter:]
India has a 100% record against Pakistan in the World Cup. So, does that become something like a mill around the neck, an issue of pressure? Or does it become work in the normal way?
[Rohit Sharma:]
I'm not a person who looks into all those kind of stats. You want to play good cricket on that particular day to win the game. And that is what we will be focusing on, playing good cricket, and how we can play good cricket, which is understanding the conditions, what is required from the team's perspective and things like that.
[Reporter:]
Do you believe in rhythm? Our main batsmen have come into rhythm. Bowlers who you have tried have also come into rhythm. So, it's not about looking back, but do you believe in rhythm?
[Rohit Sharma:]
Yes, yes, of course. Rhythm is very important. If you look at it in other terms, it is called momentum. We have played 7 or 8 matches in India and before that in Sri Lanka and here too we played 2 matches of the World Cup. The bowlers have shown very good performances. Whether it is spinners or seamers, whenever they have got a chance to put pressure on the batsmen, they have done so. There were a few matches where we were put under pressure. Like Australia made 350 runs in Rajkot, we were put under pressure.
So, there are matches where you learn a lot of things. Our bowlers also learnt a lot from that game, what we did well and what we did not do well. Which we scored 350 runs. We talk about those things. How to improve in that.
And in batting, I will say that all the batsmen have scored runs. In the last 8 or 9 games we played. From the top to the 8th, all the batsmen have made runs. All in all, I think it's all about the rhythm. All the players are in a good rhythm. And it is always nice to go into any World Cup game with that kind of rhythm and that confidence.
So, I think, the momentum and rhythm that we are talking about, I think all the boys have it.
[Reporter:]
You have choice of both kind of wickets at this ground, black and red soil wickets. As a captain, as a team, what kind of wicket you prefer, black soil or a red soil, if given a choice, what would you prefer to play on?
[Rohit Sharma:]
See, that's the good thing about this team right now. It doesn't matter what wicket we play. We come here knowing that this is the wicket. I don't decide what wicket we need to play. Whether it's black, we've got guys who can adapt to those kind of conditions, red soil - of course, we've got again, you know, guys who can adapt to those kind of pitches because these are all Indian cricketers and they've played in all of these conditions.
So, I don't think, you know, as captain, what I prefer, I prefer playing in any kind of conditions because it is something that we have done really well over the last few years as a team and we've got the guys who can adapt to different kind of conditions as well. So that is something which gives us confidence as well going into any sort of conditions. So, whether it is a spinning pitch, seaming track, flat pitch, we've got the guys who can do the job for us.