NEWS
Follow UsIndian captain Rohit Sharma said he enjoyed playing with young debutants like Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal during the five-match Test series against England. Still, it also made him a bit emotional.
“I personally enjoyed so much working with these guys. All of them are very mischievous. I’ve seen them all play. Things were easier for me because I knew them all, maybe one or two whom I hadn’t followed that closely but the rest I knew really well. And I knew their game, their strengths and how they want to play the game,” Rohit said in a video shared by team45ro Instagram.
“For me, it was just about talking to them and telling them how good they are. Reminding them about the good things they’ve done in the past. Yeah, the situation is different, team is different, pressure…but everything else has to remain the same.
“So me and Rahul bhai had to speak a lot to them and the way they responded to us was superb. I said, ‘Okay, they’re up for the challenge’. The only thing is they need the comfort in the team environment and we tried giving that from our side.”
Rohit also shared an emotional moment with Sarfaraz Khan’s father, Naushad, after the youngster received his maiden Test cap in Rajkot.
“I’ve played with Sarfaraz’s father in the Kanga League. I was very young then. His dad was a left-handed batter, who was very aggressive as a player. And he had quite the name in the Mumbai circuit. I wanted to appreciate that his effort for all these years has paid off finally. I told him, ‘Ye jitna Test cap iska hai, usse jyada aapka hai (This cap is more yours than his)’.”
Talking about paceman Akash Deep, who made his debut in the fourth Test in Ranchi, Rohit said: “Rahul bhai gave such a beautiful speech for Akash Deep before the match. You’d only think about how much hard work he’s done. Dekho kaha pe tha 6-7 saal pehle, ab kaha hai (See where he was 6-7 years ago and where he is now).’ You get very emotional when things like that happen in front of your own eyes.”
India won the series 4-1 and handed England their first defeat under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. “A five Test match series is always tough, always hard, a lot of challenges through that one and a half to two months that we need to go through,” said Rohit.
“It was a very different experience to play that five Test series and against an opposition like England, we knew it was never going to be easy. We have to be at our best and certainly towards the end, I could say that we are at our best to come out on top on four occasions. So very, very pleased with how we played that series.”
“As a captain, the series made me think about a lot of stuff as to what we need to do, how we can stop these guys, how we can put pressure on them. There were a lot of talks behind the scenes. Luckily, I have got a superb support staff around me who are there to help and guide me.”
There was one funny moment during the Visakhapatnam Test that caught everyone’s attention. Rohit was caught on stump mic saying, “Koi garden mai nahi ghumega (No one will roam around in the garden).” He even shared a photo on his Instagram after the series alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz, Shubman Gill and Jurel that was captioned along the same lines.
“Sometimes I say things that are caught on the stump mic. But that’s me, that’s how I am. It is not to hurt anyone, but just to make sure that they are on the job, they’re thinking about the team and making a difference on the field. And I was very pleased to see everyone engage into that. That is this whole thing about me trying to tell them ki bhai, koi yaha pe ghumega nahi. Just make sure that you don’t forget the job in hand,” Rohit said.
“Whether it is me shouting at them, whether it is getting Sarfaraz to stand in one position, or whether me telling Jurel, ‘Bhai, isko aage bhadao, stumping nikalke dikha (Move the batsman forward, execute a stumping)’.”
