“We have bigger things to worry about” - Rohit Sharma downplays India’s No. 1 ranking heading into World Cup
Team India captain Rohit Sharma has downplayed the side’s No. 1 ranking heading into the ODI World Cup, saying that they have bigger things to worry about. Rohit did, however, did admit that being No. 1 is a positive feeling.
India beat Australia by five wickets in the first ODI in Mohali to become the top-ranked team in the format. They were already the No.1 side in Tests and T20Is. The Men in Blue’s triumph in Indore ensured that they would begin the ODI World Cup as the No. 1 team in the 50-over format.
At a press conference ahead of the third ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday, Rohit was asked to share his thoughts on India being the top-ranked side in international cricket. He responded:
“It’s pretty good. Honestly, it doesn't really matter what kind of ranking you go in with, what sort of performances you have had in the past. Yes, it’s a good positive thing to take forward, but you know that sport is played in present.
"So, we’ve got to play very good cricket on the present day. I don’t think anyone will be worried about the rankings at this point because we have bigger things to worry about.”
The third ODI of the India-Australia series will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday (September 27).
“As a skipper, you would not look into all those things” - Rohit Sharma on chance of a whitewash
A win in the Rajkot ODI will see India clean sweep Australia, which would be a massive achievement.
However, just like the query on the No. 1 ranking, Rohit was restrained in his response when asked about the possibility of beating the Aussies 3-0.
“As a skipper, you would not look into all those things like a whitewash is on the cards. You would want to play good cricket, and you want to achieve certain things on the field.
"The last two games, I wasn’t part of it, but I saw a lot of it, and I thought we played really good cricket and achieved a lot,” Rohit commented.
Elaborating on the positives from the first two games, Rohit added:
“We chased in one game. We batted first in the other game, got a decent amount of runs. We bowled pretty well in both games. We did pretty much everything right in these two games. There’s a bigger goal in mind, so focusing on that will be crucial for us.”
Following the Rajkot ODI, India and Australia clash in their World Cup opener in Chennai on October 8.