[Picture] India captain Rohit Sharma celebrates Dussehra with family ahead of T20 World Cup
Ahead of a busy schedule at the T20 World Cup, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma spent some quality time with his wife Ritika Sajdeh and daughter Samaira and celebrated Dussehra on Wednesday (October 5). The trio could be seen smiling at the camera as they posed for a selfie.
Sharing a picture on Instagram, he dropped a heart emoji in the caption.
Rohit is enjoying the recent success of the Men in Blue, who beat Australia and South Africa 2-1 (both) in a T20I series before the showpiece T20 event. He is now the second-most successful captain in T20Is for India after MS Dhoni (42), having won 35 out of 45 T20Is.
The veteran will be looking to end India’s 15-year long wait to win the T20 World Cup trophy again. India had last won the title in the tournament's inaugural edition in 2007. Rohit was part of that team and had played an important role in getting India to the title.
Rohit Sharma needs to step up in T20 World Cup
The Indian captain will look to lead from the front in the T20 World Cup. He is the highest-ever run-scorer in T20Is with 3,737 runs in 142 games, including four tons and 28 half-centuries. However, the right-handed batter has scored only 117 runs in his last six T20Is, including a couple of ducks against South Africa.
In Australia, the veteran has scored 181 runs in seven innings, with a couple of half-centuries.
In a recent interview with India News, former Indian selector Saba Karim highlighted the importance of Rohit’s form for India at the T20 World Cup. He said:
“Rohit Sharma needs to contribute a lot in the upcoming T20 World Cup, and I want him to emerge as a complete player to increase more chances for India of winning the tournament.”
The Rohit Sharma-led side will leave for Australia on Thursday (October 6) and will train in Perth till October 13. The side will play in the T20 World Cup practice matches against Australia (October 17) and New Zealand (October 19).
The Men in Blue will begin their Super 12 stage against arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday (October 23).
India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (replacement yet to be announced), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players - Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar.