India vs England: File photo of Rohit Sharma with Indian cricket team youngsters.© Twitter
India captain Rohit Sharma hailed the performance of the debutants in the recently concluded Test series vs England and called the series one of the toughest of his Test career. Speaking exclusively about the hard-fought series on Team Ro on Instagram, Rohit said, “A five Test match series is always tough, always hard, a lot of challenges through that one and a half to two months that we need to go through. It was a very different experience to play that five Test series and against an opposition like England, we knew it was never going to be easy. We have to be at our best and certainly towards the end, I could say that we are at our best to come out on top on four occasions. So very, very pleased with how we played that series.”
The series also challenged Rohit the captain and he enjoyed finding solutions to the various challenges he faced. “As a captain, the series made me think about a lot of stuff as to what we need to do, how we can stop these guys, how we can put pressure on them. There were a lot of talks behind the scenes. Luckily, I have got a superb support staff around me who are there to help and guide me,” he added.
Rohit highlighted the display of the youngsters as a major positive from the series and was impressed by their approach. “I really enjoyed playing with the youngsters. All of them are very mischievous. I knew most of them well and what their strengths are and how to they want to play the game. It was just me talking to them about how good they are and the good things they have done in the past. The way they responded to me and Rahul bhai (coach Rahul Dravid) was superb.”
India lost the opening Test but Rohit was always confident of bouncing back. “Having lost the first match it is not easy. Lot of thinking goes in whether you have the right combination. So many questions will creep in. It was important to stay calm and just let it flow. It was important to send the message to the group that we don’t need to panic and there are still four more Test matches to go,” he said.
He also opened up on his conversations that were caught on stump-mic. He also touched on his infamous ‘koi garden mein ghumega to…” which had some abusive words.
“Enjoyed handling thses guys. They enjoyed it as well. Kabhi kabhi bol deta hun jo mike mein pakda jata hai. But that’s me. That’s how I am. Not to hurt anyone but to ensure they remember they have a job. I was very pleased to see everyone engaged which was absolutely brillaint. That is this whole thing is all about where I am telling them koi yaha garden mein ghoomega nahi. End of the day try and make sure to get the job done,” he said.
India leads the WTC table and is also ranked as the No.1 Test Team in the ICC rankings.
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