India will lock horns with England for three T20Is and as many ODIs against England after the conclusion of the rearranged fifth Test between the two sides at Edgbaston in Birmingham which ended in 2-2 draw after the Ben Stokes-led side romped the Jasprit Bumrah-led side by seven wickets in the final Test.
Meanwhile, India's regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is fully fit after contracting Covid-19, is back to the fold and will be back in business for the ‘Mission T20’ against England, which is beginning from July 7 (Thursday).
On the eve of the first T20I between India and England, Sharma was seen answering all the questions revolving around the series in a press conference. He gave a shocking statement saying that the T20I series against England is not a preparation for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Here are the questions which the Indian skipper addressed in the pre-match press conference.
How has the recovery been?
Recovery has been good. It has been 8-9 days since I got COVID-19. We have seen that when a player gets COVID, they have responded in a different way. I don't know what will happen ahead. I started training three days ago. I decided to participate in the first T20I as I felt my body was in good shape. I undertook 2-3 tests and everything was negative. I am just looking forward to the game.
Is this the series where we are starting for the ICC World T20 2022?
Of course, we are keeping one eye in the World T20. It is NOT a preparation. Every game matters. We want to come here and tick most of the boxes. We want to get the job done. While we are keeping one eye on the world cup, we want to ensure that we do the job even here. There are younger players to represent the country coming off through the performances in the state and IPL teams. They deserve the opportunity. England is a challenging team. These boys have been here for a while. They went to Ireland and played a couple of practice games.
What was the interaction with VVS Laxman? How was it come back to the nets?
It is good to be back. You do not want to miss games for your country. Certain things are out of your control. I just wanted to understand what was happening with the team. Today was the first day I joined the team. I was trying to understand what was the mindset of the boys. It was catching up on all the things I was not part off.
Do you have any symptoms? Was it hard to watch from the sidelines?
Yes, it was hard to watch from the sidelines. It is never an easy situation when you miss games, especially when the series was on the line. There were days while I was struggling a little bit. I feel nice and healthy heading into the T20Is and ODIs. It is nice to get back playing, that is the most important thing. I feel excited to be back on the field.
Umran Malik has impressed everyone in the IPL? Will you use him in the middle overs?
Yes, he is very much in our plans. We are trying to give him the understanding as to what the team requires from him. There will be times where we want to try out few guys. Umran is definitely one of those guys. Keeping one eye on the World Cup, we want to see what he has to offer for us. He is an exciting prospect, no doubt about it. He can bowl fast. We all saw it in the IPL. It is just about giving him the role, whether it is the new ball, middle or back end. When you play for the franchise, roles are different. For the national team, it is different. There are guys with specific skill sets here. It is about trying to utilise those. It is about how you fit in those individuals and role clarity.
How has the result in Edgbaston impacted all of the Indian team?
You want to have that hunger all the time. Whether it is batting and bowling performance. You want to achieve success as a group. I spoke to few of the guys. They know the result but they did not watch the game. It was disappointing to come out on the wrong side of the result. But, it is a different format. Only time will tell whether it has impacted this format of our preparation. Different format, different set of players who will take the field. Talking about these players who have been here for a while, they have been playing good cricket. Lot of those guys who won Edgbaston are not playing here. Whenever there is a tussle between India and England, it is a highly watched contest. That is always the case. We are not expecting anything different. Anyone who will be picked will be very hungry for the team to achieve some success. There is no difference this time around.
