Rohit on semi-final pressure: ‘Everyone knows … don’t want to keep talking about it again and again’

India’s captain Rohit Sharma stressed on the importance of keeping the team environment normal and clarity of thought as they prepare to take on England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Providence, Guyana on June 27.

“See, we want to treat this game as another game that we have played in this tournament,” he said on the eve of the match. “We don’t want to think about what lies ahead and what is the context of the game and all of that. Everyone knows in the back of their mind it’s a semi-final. But you don’t want to keep talking about it again and again and again. And not to think about what has happened in the past.”

The fixture is a re-match of the semi-final at the T20 World Cup 2022, where India suffered a ten-wicket defeat against England in Adelaide.

“I think we are, all of us, the entire group is in a good frame of mind. We are playing well as a team, enjoying each other’s company, enjoying each other’s success at times as well. Yes, we’ve been put under pressure in certain games during this tournament as well, but I thought we responded pretty well. And that is probably because we’re not thinking too far ahead.

“We want to think about how well we can play and what we can do as a team for us to achieve the result that we are looking for. Sometimes if you think too much, you then will not be able to make the decisions that you want to make on the field. So, I think it’s important that we stay clear in our mind what we want to do. We have had enough conversations with the players, what is expected out of each one of us. So, it’s time now to just rely on the individual instinct and then take the game forward.”

Both India and England will be playing in Providence for the first time this T20 World Cup – it’s a 10.30am start – and assessing conditions quickly will be crucial.

“I know it sounds very boring for me to talk about conditions, conditions, because that does matter a lot,” Rohit said. “Because in New York, we saw what the winning score was. So, we want to be a smart cricket team. We don’t want to just talk in one language, which is to just go and swing the bat.

“I think it is important for us to understand what conditions are in front of us and what we have to do. And I have spoken about experience in this group, and we rely on that experience from each player to go out and make that decision, whether it is playing the reverse sweep, whether it is bowling a yorker, whether it is bowling a bouncer. We rely on those individuals to make that decision.”

When asked about India adopting an aggressive batting approach during this T20 World Cup, Rohit picked out their Super Eight contest against Bangladesh as the “perfect game”. In that match, India scored 196 for 5 with only one batter – Hardik Pandya – making more than 40 and the team won by 50 runs.

“Yes, it’s important to play without fear,” Rohit said. “Of course. And we have created this environment in the team for the past few years … This format is like that now. Individual scores and individual brilliance don’t matter that much. If someone does it, it’s good, but you shouldn’t focus on it that I have to score 70 runs, 90, or 100 runs. I think the game that we played against Bangladesh was the perfect game. Why I say that is because only one guy scored 50 runs. Rest of the team scored 20 – 30, 20 – 30, and still we reached 198 [196]. Which is a very good score.

“That is because the role that we have given each player – he did his role in his phase. That’s why we reached that score. I think this is what our team needs – if we play eight batsmen, they will play their roles and we will get the score we want.

“I see the same with bowling – it’s not any one person’s day – they might not get a chance to bowl four overs. He will get a chance to bowl one or two overs. I keep talking to the players about this. I want one or two overs from you. I want those two tight overs. You are creating pressure here so that the other bowler can come and take the wicket from the other end.

“So, these small things, we keep talking about these things in the team. I think the message in the team is very clear. Our focus is not on the individual score, it is on the role, how you will play the role.”