"Our duty is to encourage the next generation...": Rohit Sharma
Jun 05, 2024
New York [US], June 5 : Ahead of his side's campaign opener in the ICC T20 World Cup against Ireland, the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that his team's duty is to encourage the next generation and be sincere to their ethics, true to the sport.
India, the inaugural T20 World Cup champions from 2007, will be kickstarting their campaign against Ireland in their Group A clash. The Men in Blue will be hoping to win the whole tournament and secure their first International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy since their 2013 ICC Champions Trophy win.
Speaking in a video on the ICC's Instagram handle, Rohit said, "Our duty, our responsibility is to encourage the next generation. I think it is important that you try and be in the moment, enjoy that present moment, be sincere in your work ethic, and be true to the sport. If I can do all of that, that is perfect," he said.
Rohit said that all the teams and players have contributed in T20 cricket's rise to the next level. Also, opening up on playing World Cups, Rohit says that he gets nervous before every game and it is a good thing since he wants to achieve something as a player and captain.
"Each country and the players have evolved with the game and taken it to the next level. Having played for so many years, I still feel that before every game I get quite nervous. And I believe that's a good thing. And you only get nervous when you want to achieve something. And something that I have learned over the years as well, it does not come naturally to anyone. But I think through the experience of going up and down in your career, it teaches you a lot of things. I definitely know now how to handle or how to be myself in those situations," said Rohit.
In his T20 WC career, Rohit has scored 963 runs at an average of 34.39, striking at 127.88. He has slammed a massive 9 half-centuries in the T20 World Cup. He is India's second-highest run-getter in tournament history.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube
Ireland Squad: Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Ross Adair, Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Craig Young, Benjamin White, Neil Rock, Graham Hume.
