Indian cricket coach Rahul Dravid with Rishabh Pant during the practice at the Cantiague Park in New York.
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR
India captain Rohit Sharma stated that his batters will have to use their experience to navigate the tricky pitch at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium here.
“This does not look like a venue where you can score easily. We have to be mindful of that. Our experience will help — many of our players have played outside India. We are coming off the IPL, where a lot of runs were scored. So, we have to adapt. We’re mindful of the fact that those kind of runs will not be made,” Rohit said on the eve of India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opening match against Ireland.
The skipper explained that he tried to talk head coach Rahul Dravid — now in his final assignment — into staying in the job for a while longer.
“My equation with him (Dravid) goes a long way back. He was my captain when I made my international debut, against Ireland. He is such a big role model for all of us. We grew up watching him play. He has shown a lot of great determination throughout his career. That is something I wanted to learn from him when he became the coach. Other than the big silverware, we have won a lot under him,” Rohit said.
“I tried holding him back (in the head coach job). But he has a lot of things he needs to look after,” Rohit said.
Rohit refrained from making statements about possibly honouring Dravid with a title here. “It was great working with him, and I hope to.… I’m not going to say anything,” Rohit said, fearful of possibly jinxing the dream.
During the warm up game, a fan entered the field and rushed to greet Rohit. The batter does not condone pitch invasion, and called on spectators to stay in their seats.
“No one should intrude into the ground. The players’ security is important. The fans’ security is also important. They should realise that there are laws in place. India has rules. Here there are different rules.”
