Team India skipper Rohit Sharma opened up on the upcoming challenge against Bangladesh in a two-Test series. The classy right-handed batter cheekily said how oppositions love beating Team India, but stated that their focus is not on their words. A video of the same emerged on social media.
India, ranked No.2, will open their much-anticipated home season against Bangladesh with a two-Test series in Chennai. The two teams will move to Kanpur for the 2nd Test before locking horns in three T20Is. Rohit's men will also host New Zealand for three Tests before travelling to Australia for a gruelling five-game series.
Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday, the veteran cricketer said he doesn't have a problem with India being the target of all teams, but wants his players to focus on their own skills. He explained:
"Sab team ko India ko Haraana hai. India ko haraane mein maza aata hai. Maze lene do unko, par hamaara kaam hai, jo humko karna hai ki hume match kaise jeetna hai. Hum yeh nahin soch sakte jo hamaare saamne jo team hai woh kya soch rahi hai. England bhi jab yahan aaye they, unhone bhi kaafi baat-cheet ki, press conferences ki, par humne kabhi us cheez pe focus nahin kiya."
(Every team wants to beat India and they enjoy doing it. Let them keep having fun. Our job is to focus on winning matches. We can't think about what the opposition is thinking about us. When England came here, they also spoke a lot during press conferences, but we didn't focus on them.)
India's squad for 1st Test against Bangladesh:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.