IND vs BAN: “World Cup Is Still 8-9 Months From Now, We Cannot Think So Far Ahead” – Rohit Sharma

India National Cricket Team skipper Rohit Sharma has stated that the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which is set to be held in India in October-November, is still far away and it’s too early to think about the marquee tournament.

Team India are currently in Bangladesh for ODI and Test series. The India tour of Bangladesh 2022 consists of a three-match ODI series and a two-match Test series. The ODIs will be played on December 4, 7 and 10 while the Test matches will be played from December 14 to 18 and December 22 to 26.

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Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Saturday, December 3, Rohit Sharma talked about the next year’s 50-over World Cup. He said that they will definitely keep an eye on the World Cup preparations, but they “cannot think so far ahead.”

“I mean, see, every time we play a game, it’s a preparation for something that is going to come in the future. But the World Cup is still 8-9 months from now. We cannot think so far ahead.” Rohit said ahead of the first ODI in Dhaka, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“But yeah, we will keep an eye on what we need to do as a team, where we can improve, and how it comes along for us. I think it’s very, very important for us not to start thinking about so many things about the World Cup; this is the combination, that is the combination, we need to play this guy, that guy.”

Rohit Sharma added that he and head coach Rahul Dravid have got a “fair idea” about their plans and they will narrow down the plans once they get closer to ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The 35-year-old said that currently they are focusing on winning the series against Bangladesh as “thinking too far ahead sometimes doesn’t help”.

“I and the coach have a fair idea about what we want to do and we will narrow it down once we get closer to the World Cup. But I think we just want to play cricket, play good cricket until the World Cup comes up. But first, winning the series is what we are looking at. We are looking at one game at a time and seeing how we can play well in that game. And then think about the second and third. So, thinking too far ahead sometimes doesn’t help,” he said.

They are a very challenging team – Rohit Sharma on Bangladesh

Rohit Sharma applauded Team Bangladesh, saying that they are a very challenging side, have massively improved and winning against them will not be an easy task.

“I think it has been an exciting rivalry for all these years. You know the last seven-eight years, the Bangladesh cricket team has been a different team, they are a very challenging team and we didn’t have easy wins against them. You have to play good cricket to win against them. And every time we played them it has been a very close game. Even in the T20 WC, it was a close game.

“In 2015, we lost the series here. We know they are a very improved team in the last few years. So we have to play our best cricket to win this. It is not going to be easy for us,” he said.

Rohit Sharma further talked about the Bangladesh spectators and said that they can be quite intimidating at times. He elaborated:

“Very much, yes (whether India will be under some pressure from the crowd). The crowd here can be intimidating. There is no doubt. They are very passionate fans of cricket and they get right behind the team. Which is pretty exciting for the team. For us, a lot of the guys are coming to Bangladesh for the first time.

“But that doesn’t change a thing. We are used to playing in such big crowds, especially when you tour places like England and Australia, the crowd there can also be quite intimidating and they want to make sure that their team wins. They want to get behind their team. It’s the same thing here as well. But I think it’s not going to affect our boys too much. I think they are used to being under pressure, being in front of a lot of people, and being challenged. So, I don’t think that’s going to make much of a difference.”

Also Read: IND vs BAN: ‘Flight Changed, No Food, Luggage Misplaced’: Deepak Chahar Shares Aeroplane Anguish On The Eve Of 1st ODI vs Bangladesh