Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: India begin the T20 World Cup in Australia as one of the favourites but captain Rohit Sharma says a lot of things will have to fall into place if they are to win the title.
Inaugural champions India failed to make the knockout stage at last year’s tournament in the United Arab Emirates and have not won a World Cup since taking the 50-overs title on home soil in 2011.
“It’s been a while since we have won the World Cup,” Rohit, who leads the side at a World Cup for the first time, told the India cricket board’s website.
“Obviously the motive and the whole thought process is to win the World Cup, but we know that we need to do a lot of things right to get there, so one step at a time for us.”
At the last tournament in the UAE, India lost their opening match against Pakistan and were also beaten by New Zealand as they crashed out at the Super 12 stage.
Rohit said it was important to focus on each game as it comes. “We can’t think too far ahead. You really cannot think about semis and finals from now itself,” said the opener, whose form remains a concern for the side.
“You just need to focus on each team that you are going to come against and try to do your best and prepare well against each team and make sure we move in the right direction.”
There is considerable hype around India’s opening match on Sunday – a “blockbuster” against Pakistan — but Rohit said his players must not get swept up in the moment.
“It’s a big game — we are starting off our campaign. But, at the same time, we want to just keep ourselves quite relaxed and focused on what we need to do as individuals, because that is going to be the key for us. “If individuals can keep themselves calm and composed during the game, we’ll get the result that we’re looking for.”
