Team India skipper Rohit Sharma remained tight-lipped about the T20 World Cup and the participation of senior players including himself as he ducked under the question using his wit and humour. In the pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test against South Africa, Rohit was asked if the series win against the Proteas and then the T20 World Cup would somewhat heal the loss in the ODI World Cup final and how desperate are the seniors to achieve that and the skipper brilliantly drifted past the question while focussing mainly on the Tests against South Africa.
On the eve of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, Rohit was excited at the prospect of doing what no Indian captain has done in the past - win a Test series in South Africa - and was candid saying that the team has put in a lot of effort across formats in the last few years and they deserve a big trophy.
"We have been touring for so many years and we haven't here yet. So obviously, it will be a huge deal winning this series. But I don't know whether this series win, if we achieve that, will heal the World Cup loss wounds because a World Cup win is a World Cup win and you can't compare this series with that tournament. However, this series in itself is a big one and we win it, it would be huge considering we have put in so much effort and hard work and are doing it constantly so we deserve a trophy, we want to win something big," Rohit said.
The skipper mentioned that not just the seniors, every player is keen to get the results and the team knows that they have the tools to be successful here. "They should play without any fear or baggage and this will be our motive, to play freely and don't think about the past or the future. Just think about what we need to do to succeed here."
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The reporter then specifically asked Rohit about the T20 World Cup after the captain intentionally ignored it but was quick to mention, "Desperation cricket ko lekar hai. Sabko accha karna hai, sabko khelna hai aur jahaan mauka milega sabko accha karna hai. Mujhe pata hai aap kya bolne ki koshish kar rahe ho, milega jawab milega aapko uska (The desperation is to play good cricket. Everyone wants to do well wherever they get a chance. I know what you are pointing towards and you will get an answer soon.)"
