T20 World Cup: Rohit defends his underwhelming performance says one knockout game won’t define me

India skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about his underwhelming numbers in crunch games but would not appreciate it if he or any other player is defined by failure in a knockout game. 

India is set to face England in the second semifinal match at the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

He managed just 29 against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World T20 final and a mere 34 against Australia in the 2015 ODI World Cup semifinal.

He scored 43 against the West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final and could not even open his account against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy title clash.

In the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, Rohit’s contribution was just 1.

Rohit Sharma’s performance in the previous five matches:

• IND vs ZIM – 15 runs
• IND vs BAN – 2 runs
• IND vs SA – 15 runs
• IND vs NED – 53 runs
• IND vs PAK – 4 runs

Asked if such below-par performance in important matches bothers him, Rohit was not amused.

“Not just me, but all the players, what they’ve done in their entire career, one knockout game doesn’t define them,” Rohit said as he gears up to lead India in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England.

“The entire year you work so hard to get where you want to and do well in whichever format you play. So that one particular game is not going to decide that,” he insisted.

Rohit has no problems being in present but is reminded that the past should not be forgotten.

“It’s important to understand that knockout games are important and it gives you immense confidence if you do well. But we do not forget what has happened in the past, what the players have done in the past.

“All the performances that they’ve put in for the team over the years, that one game cannot dictate that (narrative),” Rohit added.

Shorter side boundaries are a challenge

The shorter boundaries at the Adelaide Oval, barely 60 meters, are certainly a big challenge.

“That’s one of the challenges that we have had in this tournament. For example, last year in Dubai, the dimension of the ground didn’t change too much. We know there was one side bigger, but other than that, not too many things changed.

“But when we play here in Australia, obviously some of the grounds have longer, straighter boundaries, some of the grounds have smaller on the sides. So you’ve got to adjust to it as quickly as possible.”

Rohit Sharma on Suryakumar Yadav:

When asked about Suryakumar Yadav’s fearless approach, Rohit expressed:

“That’s probably his nature. I think he’s (Surya) that sort of guy who just doesn’t carry any baggage with him. No, not his suitcase (laughter). He’s got a lot of suitcases, honestly speaking. He loves his shopping.

“But when it comes to carrying the extra pressure, extra baggage, I don’t think he has that in him. You can see that when he plays. It’s not like he’s played a couple of tournaments like that. He’s been playing like that for a year now, and it shows, and you can judge the kind of character he is, and he likes to play like that.”

In fact, Rohit gave a nice insight into Surya’s mindset.

“Surya likes playing on the big ground. He hates playing on small grounds. As he told me once, he doesn’t like the smaller boundaries, and smaller grounds. He can’t see the gaps. I believe that he likes to see big gaps, and that’s where his strength is.”

(Inputs from PTI)

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