India is set to take on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series at home, starting on September 19 in Chennai. Recently Indian captain Rohit Sharma held a press conference on Tuesday where he emphasized that every team aims to defeat India but the hosts remain unfazed by external opinions.
Rohit pointed out that England had also made numerous statements during their five-match Test series earlier this year, but India’s focus has always been on their own performance.
“Bangladesh ke baare mein dekhiye. Sab team ko India ko harana hai. India ko harane mei maza aata hai. Maze lene do unko. But humara kaam hai jo humko karna jo hai ki hume match kaise jeetna hai. Hum ye nahi soch sakte ki humare saamne jo team khel rahi hai vo humare bare mein kya soch rahi hai. Unka thinking kya hai. (Every team wants to beat India; they all enjoy that; let them enjoy. Our job is to win the match. We can’t think what others think about us).”
He added, “England bhi jab yaha par aaye the, unhone bhi kaafi baat-cheet kari press conferences mein but humne koi uss cheej par focus kiya nahi utna. Humare ko jaruri tha ki hum results ko humari taraf kaise laaye. Toh humari kosish abhi bhi yahi rahegi ki cricket kaise ache tarike se khele. Jyada opposition ke barey mein naa soche (When England came, they also spoke a lot in the press conferences, but we do not focus on that. We try to play good cricket and not think too much about opposition).”
Rohit further explained that with the extensive experience Indian players have against various teams, there’s no need for a separate strategy.
Rohit’s comments came in response to Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who stated that his team is determined to win both matches against India in the upcoming series.
