With a Coach Like Ravi Shastri, You Get the Freedom - Rohit Sharma

Hailing Ravi Shastri’s impact on the team, India opener Rohit Sharma said the team could win the next year’s World Cup in England.

The Virat Kohli-led side had done exceedingly well under Shastri who took over the reigns from Anil Kumble.

Under Shastri’s guidance, the team defeated Sri Lanka in Tests twice in addition to registering the limited-overs series win over Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home.

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The tour of South Africa did not start on an expected note, but the team bounced back strongly to finish it historically. India lost the Test series 2-1 but went on to win the subsequent ODI and T20I series. The 5-1 win in ODIs was India’s first bilateral series win in South Africa.

With the team looking almost unstoppable at the moment, Rohit is hopeful it could go all the way in next year’s World Cup. He also lauded Shastri for giving the much-needed freedom to the players.

“I think so,” Rohit said at a book launch when asked if India can win the 2019 World Cup. “From how I look at it, a team needs freedom, and with a coach like him (Ravi), you get that freedom. We never felt under pressure about going and winning outside India. For me, it is about winning, whether at home or outside. There is a lot of importance given to winning away from home. But for me, it is about going and representing my country and winning everywhere,” he added.

He further cited the tour of South Africa to insist the team is on the right path heading to next year’s World Cup.

“And what we did in South Africa was an example of how this team is going to play over the next few years, at least till the World Cup. We want to go and express ourselves on the field. We want to enjoy our cricket. It is the most important thing that a cricket team can do on the field. We have learnt from our mistakes, and we tried and rectified them when we went to South Africa. Hence, we saw improved performances from all the players,” he said.

The star batsman went on to share his views on India’s performance in South Africa.

He also said the performance in South Africa would boost the team’s confidence for the tough tours of England and Australia.

“We read the conditions well, and that is what cricket is about. I thought we did our homework pretty well against the opposition. The three Test matches we played, we dominated for nearly 14 days. One day of bad Test cricket and we lost the series, but that can happen. We are a young bunch but to come out and perform like that against a quality side gives us a lot of confidence ahead of tours of England and Australia.”

India will visit England in July before travelling to Australia towards the fag end of this year.

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