India had an extremely dismal outing at the last year's T20I World Cup. After India crashed out of the multi-nation cricketing event last year, their approach and mentality towards the shortest format of the game was questioned by everybody. This caused a serious shift in Indian cricket and Rohit Sharma was handed over the reins of the men in blue.
Once the England series started in July this year, India completely altered their ways of playing T20I cricket. They took the aggressive route, similar to what Eoin Morgan had done back in 2015. India played a slam-band template of cricket which raised many eyeballs across the cricketing fraternity. The Indian team is now stationed in West Indies where they are playing the 5-match T20I series.
Continuing with their aggressive brand of cricket, India completely outplayed team West Indies in the first T20I and sent across a strong statement. But the hosts, who are known for not staying down too long returned the favor to India and inflicted a 5-wicket loss upon them. With 10 runs required off the last 6 deliveries, skipper Sharma handed over the ball to youngster Avesh Khan who has been in the Indian setup for quite some time.
This decision was scrutinized by many experts and fans across the globe. On the flip side, unfazed by any kind of criticism, Rohit has made his stand clear on supporting youngsters and backing them to the best of his capabilities.
"It's all about giving opportunity. We know Bhuvneshwar, and what he brings to the table, but if you don't allow Avesh or Arshdeep you will never find out what it means to bowl at the death for India. They have done it in the IPL. Just one game, those guys don't need to panic.
They need backing and opportunity. Proud of the team. When you are defending a target like that, it can end in 13-14 overs or you try to drag it to the last over. Guys kept fighting, it was important to take wickets. The planning we did, the guys came and executed", said Rohit after the game.
Rohit also addressed India's newfound technique of aggressive batting and said that these things work sometimes and sometimes they don't the team will continue to work on it and improve the areas which require consistency.
(Inputs from PTI)
