India is set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match at the T20 World Cup. Skipper Rohit Sharma is open to making changes to his combination in every match if required, and his players are "ready for it".
"I certainly want to keep my mind open on playing eleven. We don't want to get stuck with one particular way of making the playing eleven. We want to be open about it," Rohit said.
"If we have to change one or two players in every game, we've got to be ready for it," he was crystal clear.
India fielded 29 players in the last year in T20Is. The changes were made either due to injuries or because of workload management.
According to Sharma, the players are ready for the change.
"That's how we have prepared all our guys, as well. The message was given long before we came here that if we need to change one or two players for the match-ups for what sort of conditions we are playing in, guys will be ready for it."
"So, it's not a last-minute thing where we are changing the players. This is the talk that has happened in the team a long way back, and guys are ready for it."
Rohit stressed the fact that he has tried to instill a sense of security in the Indian team.
"I have tried to give players security and tell them that 'aap hi who bande ho jo humare liye yeh kaam kar sakta hai' (You are the player who will do this particular job for us). That helps them to express themselves," he added.
But Rohit also agreed that a good team is a combination of both homework and at times letting the instincts take over in match situations.
"To be honest, it's a bit of both (match-ups and instinct), actually. You have got to be instinctive, as well. Sometimes you just have that feeling that this is the guy who will do the job for you.
According to Rohit, although a lot of international cricket hasn’t been played in Australia in October, they have still managed to collect a bit of data.
"You have to look at the match-ups, as well. We have been going through a lot of numbers all these days about how people have been successful in Australia."
"Although it's a different time, it was important for us to get some kind of data around what happens in October-November in Australia and what are the kind of people who have been successful here."
(Inputs from PTI
