After IPL 2022 mega auction highs, focus on colour ‘Blue’, says captain Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma's Team India will face West Indies in a three-match ODI series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata beginning on Wednesday (February 16).

Team India captain Rohit Sharma. (Photo: ANI)

Team Indian captain Rohit Sharma has the onerous task of getting his side to focus back on the ongoing series against West Indies, just a couple of days after the mad hustle of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction over the weekend. Rohit will lead the side in the three-match T20 series against the West Indies which gets underway at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday (February 16).

The T20 and ODI skipper said that the focus is now on ‘colour blue’ till the IPL 2022 begins sometime next month. “The last time my name was in the auction was some 12 years back, so I don’t remember what my emotions were like back then. It is natural for the guys to go through ups and downs over the course of the two days of the IPL 2022 auction. However, good thing is that we had a team meeting on Monday (February 14) and now the focus is no colour ‘blue’. The next two weeks all of us will concentrate on giving our best for India. All the guys are professionals and they understood this,” Rohit Sharma told the media during a virtual conference on Tuesday (February 15).

#TeamIndia hit the ground running at the Eden Gardens! #INDvWI @Paytm pic.twitter.com/xS8ZyzsnsA — BCCI (@BCCI) February 14, 2022

Rohit is coming on the back of a 3-0 ODI whitewash of the Windies – India’s first-ever against the men from the Caribbean. They will look to keep the same momentum going in the T20 series as well.

The skipper, who is leading the side full-time in T20 cricket in just his second series after one against New Zealand last year, said that there is no consideration IPL right now within Team India.

“There is no consideration of IPL right now for the team. The players might be turning out in different positions for their respective IPL franchises, but the point is to identify right players for the right positions in the lead up to the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. IPL we’ll take care later. The guys have been spoken to and they have clarity on what roles they are expected to play,” Rohit said.

The T20 series against West Indies followed by the one against Sri Lanka will be crucial for India in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later this year in October.

“The idea is to identify players who are going to play in the T20 World Cup. We’ll also focus on getting back-up ready. We have a packed schedule and injuries can happen. We have to use these two series fully,” Rohit added.