Rohit Sharma opened up on his bowling, revealing that he mentally prepares to bowl 10 overs during a Test match.
The coronavirus outbreak has forced the cricket action to come to a halt. Many players are since utilising the break to reflect on their careers, as well as talk about the future of the game post-pandemic. Some are also opening up on their lives beyond the sport through their social media handles on various platforms.
Rohit Sharma, who has been a part of various live conversations with fellow cricketers on Instagram, talked to Star Sports for their new show, 'Cricket Connected: Chats."
Considered as one of the best batsmen in limited-overs cricket among the modern-day players, Rohit revealed that he 'misses' his bowling and that he prepares himself mentally to bowl 10 overs in the longest format.
"I miss my bowling! Since I injured my finger, I'm unable to grip the ball and I can't bowl the way I used to. Wankhede's pitch doesn't give me a chance to bowl, so I stay away from it. In Tests, I try to bowl because that gives bowlers a break. To help the team, I mentally prepare myself to bowl 10 overs in a Test match," said Rohit.
Rohit Sharma has two wickets in Tests, eight in ODIs and one in T20Is. In 2009, he also famously took a hat-trick in the Indian Premier League for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers against Mumbai Indians - the franchise he would go on to represent and captain in the future.
The Star Sports series will also feature Sachin Tendulkar, and he could be seen advising players on how they can use the lockdown to prepare themselves for the time when cricket returns.
"I would tell all of them to recharge their batteries. They need to have a little time off as well. When you are playing every alternate day, it's not so easy to stay on top of the game all the time. It is good to move away from cricket for a while, recharge your batteries and then start focusing. I'm seeing different kinds of training that players are doing on social media," said Tendulkar.
"In addition to that, as far as batting and bowling is concerned, there are physical drills and preparing yourself mentally that one needs to do. They also need to visualize on how they can rectify what wrong they did in the past and how they can repeat the good they did.
"There have been many champions who didn't have the best of everything, but they made the best of everything they had, so right now, we are in that situation. We need to try and maximise whatever facilities is available to us right now. It's all about staying connected with cricket."
