New York (USA): As India are ready to take on Ireland in their campaign opener of the T20 World Cup, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma talked about the legacy he will be leaving behind and his aim to leave a mark for the coming generation.
The 37-year-old, who debuted against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup, smashed a crucial half-century in his first-ever T20I innings against the formidable South African side and won the Player of the Match. The right-handed batter, who was part of India's T20 World Cup title triumph in 2007, believes that winning a World Cup is the “most prestigious” achievement a player can accomplish in his or her career. He hopes to make a positive impact on the future generation of cricketers.
"It's always been the dream to win World Cups. Winning the World Cup is the most prestigious thing that you can ever do. And for me, nothing changes from all the World Cups that I have played. I always wanted to win and I will still keep driving towards that,” he said in a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"As a player of the national team, our responsibility is to encourage the next generation to take up the sport and play the sport. So I think that is something that I want to leave behind, leave a mark on the next generation who are going to follow us, the way we play, the way we carry ourselves on the field. Those are the things that I'll be really proud of if I can leave something behind on those lines. I think it's mentally, to keep myself calm and enjoy the sport, enjoy each and every bit of it," Rohit, who has the second-most sixes in the T20I showdown, added.
"I think it's important that you try and be in the moment, enjoy that present moment, and leave the rest up to the Almighty. Because I think it's important that you keep doing what you're supposed to do and be sincere in your work ethics, be true to the sport. And I think if I can do all of that, that's perfect,” concluded Rohit, who plays for Mumbai in the domestic circuit.
Rohit is the only and one of the two cricketers to feature in all nine editions of the T20 World Cup along with the world number two ranked all-rounder Bangladesh's veteran Shakib Al Hasan. Notably, Rohit Sharma (151) is the only player to feature in 150+ T20I matches.
"It is quite exciting (playing another T20 World Cup), I never thought about it, honestly speaking. But it is nice having played all the T20 World Cups. And I've enjoyed every bit of it. When you come to ICC tournaments, it is always exciting, [and] brings a lot of new challenges,” Rohit said.
However, the Indian captain stated that the first thing that came to his mind from the tournament was the bowl-out against Pakistan in 2007.
"I think the first thing that comes to my mind is the bowl-out that we had against Pakistan. I think that was the first-ever bowl-out that happened, and for us to come out on top was even more exciting. You know, it has never happened before. No teams have done it in the World Cup. So it was quite exciting for us to have a crack at it and come out on top eventually," he said.
"And I still remember that after our normal training, we used to train for bowl-outs, which was quite exciting. Everyone used to participate in that bowl-out. And we knew at some stage we have to have, we have to play and win that game through bowl-out. And that's exactly what happened when we played a game against Pakistan. And like I said, it was nice to come out on top,” Rohit, who is the third leading run-getter in T20I history, added.
India will take on Ireland in their opening group encounter in the Men's T20 World Cup in New York on Wednesday, June 5.
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