India Vs England ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: I Try To Put Myself In My Players’ Shoes, Says Captain Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma's Team India will take on defending champions England in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.

Team India captain Rohit Sharma. (Photo: AP)

Team India have got a week-long break before they take on defending World Cup champions England in their sixth match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday. India are the only unbeaten team in the World Cup 2023 so far and skipper Rohit Sharma will be keen to maintain this unbeaten record against Jos Buttler’s side.

After securing a thrilling four-wicket victory over New Zealand, Team India is now on the top of the table in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after making it 5 wins from 5. Ahead of India’s crucial game against the defending champions England, speaking exclusively to Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’, Rohit Sharma spoke on how he tries to execute his role as a captain and a leader.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’, India’s captain and opener batsman Rohit Sharma shared his thoughts as playing the role of a captain and leader and how he is managing everyone in the team, he said, “I think when it comes to managing players, it’s quite important that you understand the individual first and their requirement, what are the likes and dislikes of that particular individual because you know in a team sport it’s just not about one or two individuals or few individuals, it’s about everyone.”

Team India arrives in Lucknow ahead of the England match. pic.twitter.com/4Xrv0FW5PQ — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 25, 2023

Rohit Sharma is the second highest run-getter for India with 311 runs in 5 matches at an average of 62.2 with 1 hundred and 1 fifty so far. Rohit became the batter with most centuries in the history of ODI World Cup when he slammed his 7th century in the match against Afghanistan in Delhi earlier this month.

“We do understand as well that when you want to win championships, big tournaments, everyone need to come to the party and play their part. So, it’s important that you keep everyone in good mental space. So, it’s very important to hear everyone out, understand what they want, how they want to operate and things like that and then you take everything into consideration and move forward and that is something that I always do,” Rohit said.

Asked about his captaincy mantra, Rohit Sharma said, “I try and put myself in their shoes and think about what this individual will be needing now. So, it’s important to think like that and you know luckily, I have got good bunch of guys around me; the players, the support staffs are quite understanding in terms of the requirement of the team, the players and everyone. So, yeah that is something that I wouldn’t say comes naturally to me, I’ve learned it over the years, gone through my personal experiences and understood what is needed for a team to be successful. I think what is needed to be successful is to understand everyone’s need, their requirement and give them that space and freedom to go and execute their job and their roles.

“Because it can be quite daunting at times because when you are playing such a high -profile tournament, the pressure can get to you at times. So, it's important to just stay together as a team, understand what each one needs to be in that good zone where they can come out and play free cricket and not worry about what is happening outside,” he added.