Rohit Sharma Emphasizes Team Focus Ahead of ICC T20 WC Super 8s

As Team India prepares for the Super 8s stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, skipper Rohit Sharma expressed the team’s dedication to honing their skills and working cohesively. India will face Afghanistan in their first Super Eight match on June 20 at Bridgetown.

India emerged unbeaten in the group stage, securing victories against Ireland, Pakistan, and the USA in low-scoring matches. Their final group-stage game against Canada on June 15 was washed out due to rain. Similarly, Afghanistan remains undefeated, having secured significant wins against Uganda, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. They are set to play their final group-stage game against the West Indies on Tuesday.

Rohit Sharma highlighted the team’s enthusiasm and determination to achieve something remarkable. “There is real keenness in the group to 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 in a video posted by BCCI.

The 37-year-old added that the team is excited and looking forward to the Super 8s and knockout stages of the tournament. “We will focus on our skills 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 is excited at the same time,” he added.

India aims to perform well against Afghanistan (June 20), Bangladesh (June 22), and Australia (June 24) to secure big wins, qualify for the semifinals, and end India’s ICC trophy drought since the 2013 Champions Trophy, as well as win their first T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2007.

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, Mohammad Siraj.