Following their loss in the T20 World Cup 2021, India and the West Indies will face off in three T20Is starting on Wednesday. The spotlight will be on the style of cricket India plays.
Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer may have been paid handsomely to play a specific role for their IPL teams, but that will not factor into Rohit Sharma’s decision on what is best for India’s T20 team heading into this year’s World Cup in Australia.
Back in 2011, the current India captain was one of the hottest mega auction picks for the Mumbai Indians, and he understands how players like Kishan (Rs 15.25 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (Rs 12.25 crore) must have felt during the bidding frenzy.
On the eve of the first T20 International against the West Indies, Indian captain Virat Kohli remarked, “It was expected that the lads will go through certain emotions, some ups and downs.”
He stated that now that the auctions are finished, the players’ focus would shift to national duty, which the team management has made plain to them.
“We had a fantastic discussion with everyone yesterday and asked them to focus on the colour ‘Blue’ for the next two weeks, which is critical.”
Whatever has occurred has occurred, and any team they will face in the future is a matter of the future.
“Right now, my main goal for the next two weeks is to play for India.” “These guys are all pros…nothing else counts,” the skipper stated emphatically.
Kishan bats first for MI, as does Venkatesh Iyer (KKR), and Shreyas Iyer bats third or fourth for his team.
According to Rohit, the players’ spots on the national team will not be determined by their standings in the league.
“To be honest, IPL is not taken into account here. In the IPL, we’re not going to look at where they’re going to bat. What counts is where they would bat for Team India, plain and simple “The message was unmistakable.
The Indian side will play by its own rules, unconcerned about the dynamics at play in franchise cricket.
“These men have diverse roles in their respective franchises, but what we require from them is critical. We’ll be concentrating on that rather than the IPL.
We’ll deal with the IPL later “He went on to clarify.
I’m not interested in discussing auctions.
The skipper didn’t enjoy it when the conversation turned to the auction’s large buys, and he respectfully expressed his displeasure.
“I’m not going to talk about the IPL here.” It’s critical that we focus on Team India rather than the IPL,” he said.
“It’s only for two months, whereas we’ll be playing for India for the next ten.” It’s critical that we maintain our concentration right now.”
At least for Rohit, the IPL auction and its accompanying emotions are now over.
“Yes, throughout the auction, the boys were frightened and expressing their emotions all over the place.
“But that’s over, and there’s no point in dwelling on it now. We’ve got some big games coming up. All we have to do now is concentrate on that.” “But that’s over, and there’s no point in dwelling on it now. We’ve got some big games coming up. All we have to do now is concentrate on that.”