India captain Rohit Sharma, along with BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar were present at the press conference where the Men in Blue squad for the Asia Cup 2023 was announced on August 21 in Delhi.
The squad saw the return of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna in the ODI format after recovering from their respective injuries. Also, Tilak Varma was the new face who earned his maiden ODI call-up after impressing in the T20Is in West Indies.
Talking about the India squad for the Asia Cup 2023, Rohit Sharma shed light on their number 4 conundrum, saying they need players who can bat in any position in the line-up.
“No one should be in the team saying I'm good at this position. We want guys who can bat anywhere when needed. Not just now but this has been the case for many years. The message has been conveyed. This is international cricket and not club cricket. They have to be ready to play in any position that the team needs,” said Rohit in the presser.
He said that the no.4 spot is not confirmed for a single batter, and doesn’t want the Indian team to be handicapped with only one player at that important spot in batting order.
“We don't want to be handicapped or stuck with one player batting in one position. Having said that, we want to get the best out of our players, but no one has a set position. This has been told to the players, that they have to be flexible,” Rohit added.
Furthermore, Rohit Sharma said he doesn’t believe in the favorites tag for India going into the Asia Cup, insisting that the only slight advantage that they have is playing in home-like conditions.
“I don't believe in the thought process of being favorites. It's for the outside world to create that scenario. We have to play well. All the teams will be there to compete hard and we understand that. It can give a little bit of an advantage while playing in home-like conditions, but that's about it. As far as our prep is concerned, this is the right tournament to test ourselves and put ourselves under pressure before the World Cup,” said Rohit.
The Asia Cup 2023 begins on August 30 and India will play its tournament opener on September 2nd against Pakistan.
(PTI inputs)
