If we don't step up, we'll be in trouble: Rohit Sharma

HYDERABAD: That England were the last team to win a Test series in India was not lost on Rohit Sharma on match eve. He is wary of the challenges England can pose in the series, and the India skipper's mantra is clear - stay switched on, since no team is unbeatable. "In any sport, you win and you lose. Whatever record we have in the past decade or so does not guarantee that we are going to come out here on top and win the series," he said, and added that Team India will have to be on top of their game against England.
"We still have to play the best cricket we can play in these conditions. England is a very good team. They play their Test cricket really well. The last team to beat us here in our conditions was England. We're talking about a decade ago. Different team members from then to now. But still, the quality is there. For us, it will be important to stick to our strength. Definitely, I wouldn't say you're not beatable, definitely we are, which is what we want to be. If we don't step up, or don't show up, we are going to find ourselves in trouble. So we don't want to be doing that," he added.
Clarity of thought, the skipper reckoned, will be vital as England bring their 'Bazball' style of aggressive play to India. "You need to be very clear in your mind. You need to have a game plan when you're playing in these conditions and then back that plan - whether to defend tightly or to play some shots - sweep, reverse sweep, whatever that is. Don't be in two minds as to what you want to do as that can get you into trouble. Then you need to understand your own strengths because all of us have grown up playing in these types of conditions," he added.
'Kuldeep a tempting option'
With so much talk about truncated affairs and the pitches involved, the skipper said it was a happy headache to choose between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav for the third spinner's slot. While underlining the variety Yadav brings to the table, the Indian skipper highlighted Patel's batting ability that may just about tilt the scales in his favour.
"If the wicket has bounce or if it doesn't have bounce, he (Kuldeep) still is a factor because he's got superb variation. He is a very mature bowler now, but he's not played a lot of Test cricket in India because of Ashwin and Jadeja. We've seen it in the past as well. With our middle-order (batting), a lot of us got an opportunity pretty late. But yes, he's a very tempting option. Axar, with his all-round ability, gives us that batting depth. The consistency that he's shown, playing in these conditions in Test cricket, also is an important factor for us. It's a headache to decide who it is going to be for us. But I am not going to say who it is," said Rohit.
No recall for Pujara, Rahane?
Rohit said the decision not to consider recalling some senior pros - Cheteshwar Pujara and Anjinkya Rahane - was not easy. Rahane last played for India against the West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 2023, while Pujara was dropped after the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at the Oval last year.
"Actually, we did think about it (going back to a senior player). But all these younger players, when are they going to get their opportunity? Leaving out an experienced player or not considering them is very hard.
"The amount of runs they've scored, the kind of experience they've had, the amount of games they have won for us, it's very hard to ignore. But, you sometimes have to bring certain players into your set-up. You've to give them favourable conditions as you don't want to expose them on foreign tours. It's important that we give some of these youngsters an opportunity at home," said Rohit.