ICC's mega event T20 World Cup 2022 is around the corner and is slated to start from October 16 in Australia. Meanwhile, Team India will look to come out of their forgettable outing in the last edition of the all-important tournament as they gear up for their biggest assignment in the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
India have not won any ICC title since 2013, which makes the T20 World Cup even more important for the Men in Blue.
Ahead of the marquee tournament, Team India is playing a series of International tours to rev up for the biggest stage. Meanwhile, Rohit emphasised on creating bench strength in order to have a proper back-up for the senior players like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami.
"(Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami and all these guys will not be with the Indian team forever, so you have to try and prepare the other guys. Myself and Rahul (Dravid) bhai spoke about how we are going to create our bench strength because that's going to be very crucial considering the amount of cricket we play, considering the injury factors and everything," Sharma was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
"We never want to be a team that relies on one or two individuals, we want to be a team where everyone can contribute and help the team win on their own. We want to be that kind of a team and that's why we want to give the youngsters as many opportunities as possible and of course, you have got senior players around them. They can be of good help."
Sharma added that players like Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Tripathi are being given the opportunity so that they become more confident.
"The guys are getting exposure and our aim is to create bench strength, so that's why in Zimbabwe, there are a lot of players who are touring for the first time - be it Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Tripathi - and it is a good exposure. They are really talented and will grab the opportunity. It's about getting the confidence at this stage, which I am sure they will learn. Playing for the country matters the most," Sharma said.
