India and South Africa will begin a two-match Test series on Tuesday, December 26. A day before the match, India captain Rohit Sharma spoke to the media about the team’s preparations. He said that the team’s goal is to win the series after their defeat in the World Cup.
“We are ready for the match,” Rohit said. “The conditions here favor the bowlers. It is not easy to bat here for five days. We have the experience. As the match progresses, the challenges will increase for us. We play for this. We face challenges. Our team has talked about it. We came here a week ago. All the players have the freedom to play their own way.”
On the role of spinners
Rohit said, “Here, the contribution of all bowlers is important. Apart from fast bowlers, spinners are also important. We have two experienced spinners (Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja). They know what the team needs from them here. They don’t need to talk much. They know everything. Both are quite aggressive. Whenever they have the ball, they think about taking wickets.”
On the World Cup final defeat
Rohit said, “It was very difficult to lose from where we played in the World Cup. It was difficult for all of us. We had a great performance in the first 10 matches. We could not do that in the final and we lost. It is difficult to get out of this kind of defeat, but there is a lot of cricket going on and you have to move forward for it. It was also difficult for me to move forward. We got a lot of support from outside. It motivated me a lot.”
How long will KL Rahul keep wicket?
The Indian captain said, “All players have to play different roles in their careers. KL Rahul is one of them. He kept wicket in the World Cup. He himself stepped forward and accepted the challenge. This gives us the freedom to keep an extra batsman. He opened the batting last time here, but this time he will play in the middle order. He is experienced and he knows what the team needs from him at different stages of the game. We don’t know how long he will keep wicket.”
Is it easy to bat in South Africa?
Rohit said, “Whenever you play on pitches where there is bounce, batsmen like it a lot. The ball comes on the bat properly. If you make the right strategy against their bowlers, you can score runs. However, it is not that easy. You have to keep one thing in mind here that you can get out at any time.”
Will a win here reduce the pain of the World Cup defeat?
Rohit said, “We have never won a series here. It would be good if we win, but it is not known whether the pain of the World Cup defeat will be reduced or not. Everyone is working hard. We have to win something or the other. We have players of all kinds. We have to play with freedom and not think too much about anything.”
Who will play between Mukesh and Prasidh?
The Indian captain said, “It is difficult to choose between Mukesh and Prasidh. We have talked to KL Rahul and Rahul bhai (Dravid). Both are different types of bowlers. Prasidh is tall and can do a lot from the pitch. If we talk about Mukesh, he has improved a lot in six months. We have Siraj and Bumrah. Now we have to see what kind of bowler we need between Mukesh and Prasidh. We are discussing it.”
Also, Read Following News:
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Birth Anniversary: A Nation Remembers Its Visionary Leader
Paytm fires 1,000 employees to save 15 percent of staff costs
Delhi’s AQI Improves, Though City Enveloped In Blanket Of Smog
