Ahmedabad: India vice-captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said that the home side does not see the five-match T20 series against England as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup later this year, and remains focused on winning the upcoming assignment.India has picked some fresh faces for the series while resting lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the team begins its preparations for the showpiece event. We don’t see it as a rehearsal. We are not thinking too far ahead. We are focusing on winning the series, Rohit said, ahead of the series opener here.
If we focus on the present, the future will take care of itself. It is a long series and it is important to see where we stand as a team and individual. It will be interesting to see who among KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan opens alongside Rohit, who did not reveal much about the combination for the first game.
‘We will have to wait and see.’ The India opener, however, said that his role does not change and added that he would continue to bat the same way. “It is about giving the team a good start if we bat first, nothing changes for me. When we chase, the approach is the same but the mindset changes as you have to calculate a lot of things.”
His Mumbai Indians teammates Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have earned their maiden India call-ups. Rohit, their IPL skipper, said that both are bound to be nervous. It is natural for them to feel nervous while thinking of performances, but it will only put pressure on them. It is about being relaxed and having fun in this great Indian set-up. It is not going to be easy and there will be challenges every now and then. But, it is about how you respond to them, he said.