India skipper Rohit Sharma has dismissed claims that the team played conservative cricket in the previous editions of the T20 World Cups.
Since winning the inaugural edition of the showpiece event under the then skipper MS Dhoni in 2007, the Men in Blue have struggled at the T20 World Cups. After the 2007 edition, India’s next best effort came in 2014 where they finished as runners-up to Sri Lanka.
India managed to enter the semis during the 2016 edition however, last year’s tournament was one of the worst as they failed to advance to the next stage after losing to arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand.
“We haven’t got the results in the World Cups but that doesn’t mean we were playing bad cricket for so many years, I don’t agree that we were playing conservative cricket,” Rohit said ahead of the five-match T20I series against West Indies, starting on Friday (July 29).
“If you lose an odd game in the World Cup, it seems we were doing things wrong and we didn’t take chances. But if you look [at it], we won probably 80% [71%] of our games leading into the World Cup. If you are conservative, you won’t win these many games,” he added.
Rohit meanwhile, also admitted that the players have now been given the freedom to ‘play freely’ and flet that the way India were now playing needs patience before they find consistency with results.
“Yes, we didn’t qualify [for the knockouts in 2021], but that happens. It doesn’t mean we were not playing freely. Lately also we haven’t made any such changes; we are playing in the same manner but we have given the freedom to the players to play their game. Because if you play freely, you will get the performances,” he expressed.
“”So those who are outside should have patience. The way we are playing, there will be failures and the results may not always go our way. But that doesn’t mean the players are not good enough, or the team is not good enough. It’s just that we are trying to do something new. With time, everyone has to change. We are changing and those on the outside should also change the way they think,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rohit also welcomed the appointment of Paddy Upton as the mental conditioning coach until the T20 World Cup later this year and said: “I think his [Upton’s] inclusion in the squad will help all of us,” Rohit said. “He has got so much experience working with different teams at different places. He will definitely bring the mental side of the game into the picture. He has worked with the Indian team before. He was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team and he has had some success in franchise cricket as well.”
“He knows a lot of our players as well, he has worked with them closely. The mental side of the game, as we know, is very, very important. With his experience, with his ideology, I think it’s going to help us,” he added.