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When India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, it marked a glorious chapter in Indian cricket. Team India captain Rohit Sharma is among the handful of cricketers from the 2007 era who are still playing at the top level. While the right-handed batter was a role player in India's triumphant campaign in 2007, his responsibilities have since increased significantly. The 'Hitman' is now tasked to deliver the second T20 World Cup title to the country, only this time in a different role, one which will see Rohit leading the team in the upcoming edition of the multi-national tournament.
The 2022 ICC T20 World Cup will kick off in just a day's time in Australia and before the marquee tournament gets underway, all 16 captains addressed a press conference on October 15 (Saturday). Answering various queries, captains gave an update on their squad while also speaking about the preparedness of their respective teams. Team India captain Rohit Sharma was blunt as always while answering the questions from reporters.
When quizzed about how T20 cricket has evolved since 2007, captain Rohit detailed the evolution from a personal and cricketing standpoint.
"It's been a long time, since 2007. When I was picked for the WC, I didn't go with any expectations. I just wanted to enjoy, that was my first-ever World Cup. I had no understanding until we won it. From there, till now, it's been a long journey. The game has evolved, you can see the difference in how it is played now in comparison to then," Rohit said during the press conference.
"140-150 was a good score back then. Now, teams try to reach there in 14-15 overs. Teams take risk without worrying about the result now. That's something our team is also trying to do. This is the kind of format where there's a risk, but there's high rewards as well. We will be prepared to do it as well. That's my understanding from 2007 to 2022. A lot of things have changed," he added.
India, who won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, haven't tasted success in ICC tournaments since 2013 and there is a ton of expectations from the current senior men's side to end the trophy drought Down Under.
The Men in Blue have already played two warm-up games, winning one and losing another, and they will now play two ICC-organised practice matches ahead of their World Cup opener against Pakistan in Melbourne on October 23.
