Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, in a recent Instagram chat, acknowledged the contribution of debutant players in the recently concluded Test series against England and even called it one of his most challenging ones.
Speaking about the intense series, the 36-year-old 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 tested Rohit’s leadership as well, but he enjoyed finding solutions to the problems that arose. “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,” Rohit added.
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The 36-year-old cricketer was particularly impressed by the youngsters’ attitude. “I really enjoyed playing with the youngsters. All of them are very mischievous. I knew most of them well and what their strengths were and how they wanted 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.”
He was touched by the stories of the young players. He shared an example of Sarfaraz Khan, mentioning that he had witnessed his journey since he himself played against Sarfaraz’s father in his younger days. “I was just lost in their debuts. I was enjoying their debuts so much because their parents were there. There was so much emotion. I have played with Sarfaraz’s father in Kanga league when I was very young. His father was a left handed batter. He was an aggressive player and very well known in Mumbai cricket circles. I wanted to acknowledge his effort and hard work that had paid off with his son playing for India. I just wanted to tell him that his son’s Test cap belongs as much to him as his son.”
Despite losing the opening Test, Rohit remained confident of a comeback. “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 concluded
India currently leads the World Test Championship table and holds the number one ranking in the ICC Test rankings.
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