India is gearing up for a highly anticipated semi-final clash against New Zealand in the ODI World Cup 2023 in what will be a rematch of the semi-final of the 2019 edition of the tournament. The encounter is scheduled to take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, November 15.
India have been dominant with nine wins in nine league-stage matches, and Team captain Rohit Sharma has been instrumental with his aggressive approach.
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Speaking exclusively to India Today, Rohit's childhood coach Dinesh Lad, highlighted Sharma's positive attitude as a factor that sets him apart. "Rohit Sharma's specialty is that he is a very positive cricketer. I have seen him since childhood. He was the captain of his school team, at that time, he used to win matches on his own. He has a lot of faith in himself and that's what's special about him," Lad told India Today.
Lad reminisced about Sharma's early years as captain of his school team, where he often single-handedly helped his team to victories. Despite facing disappointment in not being selected for the 2011 ODI World Cup, which India won on home soil, Lad revealed that Sharma was heartbroken at the time but made a promise to win the World Cup in the future.
"Rohit Sharma is very calm and he is always focused and he has been like that since childhood. He got dropped in the 2011 World Cup, he was very disappointed. I told him at that time that if you do not give enough time to cricket, you will never become a big player and people will forget you. He had told me back then that if I had any more complaints for him going forward he would leave cricket," Lad further added.
As India remains unbeaten throughout the tournament, they have a chance to clinch the trophy without dropping a single game. Only West Indies in 1975 and 1979, and Australia in 2003 and 2007, have achieved such done this in the history of the tournament.
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