Rohit Sharma revealed that India’s T20 World Cup squad was mostly decided before the IPL, emphasizing that the team had clear roles and that IPL performances were not the primary focus.
Lucknow Super Giants secured their seventh victory of IPL 2024, triumphing over Mumbai Indians by 18 runs at Wankhede Stadium. Lucknow posted 214 runs, restricting Mumbai to 196. Despite the win, Lucknow couldn’t break into the top four, exiting the tournament in the group stage.
In the post-match press conference, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma discussed the T20 World Cup squad and his IPL performance with JioCinema. Sharma emphasized pre-IPL planning for the World Cup squad, focusing on spinners, seamers, batters, and keepers. About 70% of the squad knew their roles before the IPL, ensuring they could practice accordingly.
“We thought a lot about the team we ultimately selected for the World Cup. The spinners, seamers, batters, and keepers, we knew before the IPL who we would take to the World Cup. The IPL performances for everyone can be up and down, so we didn’t focus too much on that. We needed to see the performances of certain players, but it was important for us to give everyone the clarity they needed,” said Rohit.
“Everyone going into the IPL needed clarity of whether they would participate in the team and what their role would be so they could practice and play accordingly. All of these indicators we had shared with 70% of the team before the IPL,” he added.
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Despite being Mumbai Indians’ top scorer with 417 runs from 14 innings at a 150 strike rate during IPL 2024, Rohit Sharma acknowledged not meeting his own standards. He further emphasized the importance of maintaining a positive mindset, continuous practice, and addressing weaknesses.
“As a batter, I know I didn’t live up to the standard. But, after playing for all these years, I know that if I overthink, I won’t play well. All I try is to stay in a good mindset, in the right zone, keep practicing, and improve on all the flaws in my game. That’s all I kept doing,” the skipper said.
“Our season didn’t go according to plan. We blame ourselves for this because we made too many mistakes during the season. We lost many games that we should have won, but that’s the nature of the IPL You get a few chances and when those chances come, you must grab them,” he concluded.
Last Updated on May 18, 2024
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