India captain Rohit Sharma said that the team was unconcerned about the ‘outside noise’ when he was asked about ace batter Virat Kohli’s drought of Test tons away from India. Kohli recently scored his 29th Test century in the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad.
This was his 76th international century and first in Tests outside India since December of 2018. The former India batter had previously endured a three-year drought of centuries in international and IPL cricket.
But he ended that by scoring his maiden T20I ton against Afghanistan in Asia Cup last year and then proceeded to hit ODI tons, one against Bangladesh, followed by two against Sri Lanka at home.
He ended his three-year wait of a Test ton by scoring 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad and then scored two back-to-back centuries in IPL 2023 as well.
After winning the Test series 1-0, India will take on West Indies in the opening ODI of three-match series here at Kensington Oval on Thursday.
Rohit, meanwhile, is unconcerned with what is being said publicly about Kohli's or any other player's performance.
"Look I have answered this question a number of times. We don't focus too much on what is being said on the outside as they don't know what conversations we have within the team and we would like to keep it that way. Our focus remains on how to get the best out of every individual in the team and how to help the team win games and series. Now our focus is on the three one-dayers and giving players chances so I would want to keep myself involved with that," Rohit said in a pre-match conference.
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"There are quite a few players in the team who have played so much cricket that they need not be told everything. They are more than capable of understanding their game and you need not go and tell them every single detail. Our job is to make the new players comfortable and help them get the best out of themselves. Our focus is only on those things that could be for the betterment of the team," the India captain further added.
The ODIs will be crucial for India to finalize their World Cup squad which begins in October in India and Rohit said that he is aware that several players are vying for positions in the Indian XI.
He discussed the significance of job clarity as well as how the team management selects the players who would ultimately make the World Cup fixture.
“It's certainly a challenge because a number of players are fighting for a few spots. We have so many options be it batters or bowlers. So it is difficult for a captain and coach but it is just not me who goes through this as other teams also have to do this. What we see is who is able to perfectly fit the role that we are looking for. We look for those players who can fill the holes in the team by performing in the specific role," Rohit said.
India will play the first two ODIs on July 27 and 29 in Barbados and the third match in Tarouba on August 1.
(ANI inputs)
