RANCHI: EVERY time Rohit Sharma comes for a press conference, there is no dearth of anecdotes. After sealing the series against England in Ranchi, it was a similar interaction.
However, when the topic of hunger for Test cricket among the youngsters was broached, he did not mince words. “This is the toughest format and in this tough format, if you want success and want to excel, then you will have to keep that hunger in you,” he explained. “We will give opportunity only to those who are hungry. You get to know who is hungry and who is not. You get to understand and who are hungry and they want to play and perform in tough conditions then those players will get preference, it’s as simple as that. it’s no point playing them if there is no hunger (in them).
“I don’t see anybody in this team who doesn’t have the hunger. All these guys who are here and not here want to play. We all went through this that we have limited opportunities and if you don’t grab your chance it goes away. It is normal and it happens in cricket. Whoever uses the opportunity and helps the team win and perform those get noted and it is important. Indian Premier League is a good format no doubt, but this is the most difficult format and to get success in this difficult format is not that easy. We have seen in this series... we had to work hard, batsmen had to spend time in the middle and bowlers had to bowl long spells. This is hard work format,” said the Indian captain.
The significance of Rohit’s statement comes at a time where the BCCI is directing the centrally contracted and targeted players to play domestic tournament. BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said as much at a media interaction recently. “Everyone will have to play, otherwise, the chairman of the selection committee has given me his suggestions and I am going to give him a free hand to let him take his own calls freely,” Shah had said.
On Monday, while India sealed the series, all-rounder Hardik Pandya returned to competitive cricket in a corporate tournament not run by the BCCI. Pandya, Mumbai Indians captain, led the Reliance One team against BPCL. He bowled three overs and took two wickets. Ishan Kishan, who had taken a “personal break” in December and hadn’t taken part in the Ranji Trophy for Jharkhand this season, is expected to turn up for Reserve Bank of India team on Tuesday. While Shreyas Iyer, who did not take part in the Ranji Trophy citing a back issue, was named BPCL team squad list, it is not clear if he will play in the tournament or turn up for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu (if they qualify).