Rohit Sharma slaps Indian critics on the face openly accusing ICC and Cricket West Indies

Team India captain Rohit Sharma made cheeky remarks about the rain affecting the upcoming semifinal encounter against England in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma acknowledged the overhead weather conditions for the knockout match and stated that it's beyond anyone's control.

The Rohit Sharma-led team will face England in the semifinals at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday, June 27. The Indian cricket team enters the match unbeaten in the ICC tournament. Notably, England clinched a 10-wicket victory over India in the semifinal of the last edition of the T20 World Cup.

The first semifinal between South Africa and Afghanistan in Trinidad had a reserve day. However, there is no reserve day for the India-England semifinal match due to the final scheduled for June 29. Rain affected the preparations of both teams, with showers reported on the eve of the highly anticipated match.

Conditions Are In Nobody's Control - Rohit Sharma

At a press conference ahead of India's semifinal against England, Rohit Sharma humorously stated that they might miss their chartered flight if the match goes late due to weather. Rohit said that it's the ICC and Cricket West Indies' headache to ensure they reach the next venue on time.

“The overhead conditions is in nobody's control, you don't know what is going to happen. The only thing I am worried is if the game goes on till pretty late we have a chartered flight and we might miss that,” said Rohit.

“But that is ok, it is the ICC and Cricket West Indies' headache to get us to the next venue. We will focus on how we can play this game well and get the result in our favor. Two good cricket teams are going to play so it's going to be a great game,” he added.

Don't Think It Is An Advantage - Rohit Sharma

The 37-year-old batter dismissed the notion of India having an unfair advantage in the T20 World Cup semifinals. Rohit stated that both India and England players are familiar with the conditions in the West Indies. He added that they have to play good cricket to win and reach the summit clash of the ICC event.

“I don't think it is an advantage. A lot of these players have played in different types of venues. I am sure a lot of English cricketers have played here. So I don't see it as an advantage, at the end of the day, you have to play good cricket to win. That is how I look at it,” Rohit further stated.

India was picked to play in the second semifinal in Guyana due to viewership reasons. The first semifinal was set to begin at 6 am IST, while India's match against England will start at 8 pm IST. The ICC made this decision to maximize viewership by accommodating the large Indian audience.

The South African team defeated the Afghanistan team by nine wickets in the first semifinal to reach their first-ever World Cup final. The Aiden Markram-led team successfully chased down a 57-run target with 11.1 overs to spare in Trinidad.

Also read: "That hurts" - Aakash Chopra's brilliant reaction to Varun Chakaravarthy's 'PR agency' jibe at BCCI