"Travel can't be an excuse.." Rohit Sharma ahead of India's Super 8 game at ICC T20 World Cup 2024

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has so far scored 68 runs at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Team India captain Rohit Sharma stated that the Men in Blue will focus on their strengths and what they can do as a team ahead of the Super 8s round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

India will face Afghanistan in their first Super 8 match on June 20 at Bridgetown. India’s unbeaten record in the group stage concluded with low-scoring victories over Ireland, Pakistan, and the United States of America, with their final game against Canada on June 15 being rained out.  

While the Rashid Khan-led team won convincingly over Uganda, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, they will face India in the Super 8s after losing by 104 runs to the West Indies. On the other hand, India will enter into the contest with high confidence as they played on a difficult pitch in New York.

The 37-year-old India captain Rohit Sharma stated that everyone in the team is excited and is looking forward to the Super 8s and knockout stages of the ongoing marquee event. He also said that experience of playing in West Indies will come in handy in this second stage of the tournament.

“We will look to focus on our skill and what we need to do as a team. We have played a lot of games here. Everyone understands what they need to do. Everyone is looking forward and are excited at the same time,” Rohit Sharma told ICC.

India had made it into the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia, only to be decimated by England.

That’s not an excuse: Rohit Sharma on India playing its three Super 8s games in five days

The Men in Blue stayed undefeated in Group A, defeating Ireland, Pakistan, and the United States in low-scoring games in New York, while their last game against Canada in Florida was abandoned owing to a damp outfield.

After a week off, the Rohit Sharma-led team will return to play in the Super 8s. India will begin their Super 8 campaign against Afghanistan in Barbados on June 20, followed by games against Bangladesh and Australia in Antigua and St. Lucia on June 22 and 24, respectively.

While the schedule is tough given the travel time involved, India captain Rohit Sharma does not see it as a challenge.

“There is real keenness in the group to go and do something special. It clearly shows that everyone wants to make a difference and we take our skill sessions quite seriously. There is something to achieve in every skill session that you do. Once we play the first game, we are going to play the next two in 3-4 days. It is going to be a little hectic but we are used to all of this. We travel and play a lot so that is not going to be an excuse,” Rohit said.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.

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