"You have to manage the expectations of everyone" - Rohit Sharma opens up on how he manages his quality bowlers
Rohit Sharma was in a pretty cheerful mood after the Indian team thumped Australia in Nagpur by an innings and 132 runs in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 on Saturday.
Having three quality spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel is an absolute luxury for any skipper, especially in the subcontinent conditions. However, Rohit opened up on a few hilarious incidents about how he has to keep all his bowlers happy.
Speaking to Star Sports after the end of the first Test, here's what Rohit Sharma had to say:
"It is very difficult to captain the side in India because you have to manage the expectations of everyone as everyone is nearing a milestone all the time. Someone has taken 250 wickets, someone has taken 450 wickets. So every day there seems to be a new milestone available for the bowlers to grab."
Rohit further spoke about how he finally managed to devise a plan that would keep all his spinners in the game. He said:
"I was pretty clear in my mind. Till the left-handers were batting, I gave the ball to Ash. Once we had two right handers at the crease, I used to tell him 'Ash, baaki do log bhi hai yaar unko bhi daalne do (Ash there are two more spinners let them bowl too)' (laughs)."
This is the full video of Rohit sharma's conversation
#INDvAUS #RohitSharmašµ https://t.co/1L9qgxB3pS
Rohit Sharma speaks about another hilarious moment involving Mohammed Siraj
India recently recorded their biggest ODI win in terms of runs against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram and Mohammed Siraj was the star of the show as he picked up four wickets.
This guys @ImRo45 hasnāt changed a bit. Loved every bit of that interview. Pura interview @StarSportsIndia https://t.co/U4lN1ept7c
However, with just about half the innings done, Siraj had already completed his quote of 10 overs as he looked for that fifth wicket that would give him a memorable fifer. Rohit Sharma was a bit baffled as he wanted to keep Siraj fresh for the Test series against Australia.
On this, he stated:
"Even in one-day cricket, Siraj bowled 10 overs in an innings that hardly had 25 overs bowled. In Thiruvananthapuram, Sri Lanka got bowled out cheaply, but Siraj bowled all 10 overs because he wanted to pick a five-wicket haul. I told him , 'Bhai Test cricket aa raha hai (Brother, the Tests are upon us)'."
India need to win two more Tests to ensure safe passage to the World Test Championship final and will look to carry on this momentum into the second Test of the series, starting February 17.