Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma believes the form of Indian players during the Indian Premier League (IPL) isn’t a sign of a concern for the national team. Indian squad for the T20 World Cup consists of 6 players from Mumbai Indians (MI) which includes their captain Rohit, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Chahar and Jasprit Bumrah.
People were questioning the recent performances of MI players, especially Hardik Pandya but according to Rohit, international cricket (T20 World) and franchise cricket (IPL) is a different ball game altogether. And IPL performances should not be used to gauge a player's form.
“I personally don’t like to count too much into what has happened in the IPL and what is going to happen in T20 World Cup. T20 World Cup is a different ball game, franchise cricket is different. So you cannot really look too much into those aspects. Yes the form matters, but it’s a different squad there and it’s a different squad here. So you cannot really look too much into that,” Rohit, said in the post-match press conference.
However, the good news for the Indian team is Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav seem to have acquired some momentum just before the T20 World Cup. In fact, both looked in fine form last night against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Getting into a rhythm in practice games
Furthermore, the 34-year-old believes it would have been ideal if the players had scored some runs in the IPL, but the players will get another chance before the T20 World Cup, as India will play two warm-up games before their T20 campaign begins.
“Yes all the six guys, who we have here, would have liked to have a good run, but it didn’t happen. You saw a couple of fine performances today from Surya and Ishan, but again, when you talk about the World Cup, there will be a couple of practice games I believe – guys can get back into their rhythm and see what we can do there,” the Indian vice-captain asserted.
After playing two warm-up games against England and Australia on October 18 and 20, respectively, India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign on October 24 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
