‘Everybody would’ve criticised me…’: Rohit Sharma takes a swipe at critics

Rohit Sharma knew the only way India could win the second Test against Bangladesh after two and half days were lost due to rain and a wet outfield at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur was to adopt a T20-style batting approach in their first innings. But it was easier said than done. It’s one thing promising an aggressive approach and another to actually do it. And then, there is the risk of failure. If India’s batters perished while playing fancy shots, it could have handed the advantage to Bangladesh as they had put on 233 runs in their first innings.
But Rohit said he, head coach Gautam Gambhir and the other members of the XI were willing to take that risk to get a result in their favour. But the Indian captain did not forget the contribution of Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with the ball. Bangladesh resumed at 107/3 on Day 4 and got bowled out for 233.
“Without the help of the other 10 players and obviously those sitting in the dressing room, this wouldn’t have been possible. When you lose two and a half days, it’s very easy for everyone to drift away from the goal that we had of winning this Test. We came here on Day 4; we needed 7 wickets to get them out. Everything started there. The bowlers came to the party first. They got the wickets that we needed,” Rohit said in an interview with BCCI.TV, which was released on Wednesday.
When India’s time to bat, Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal set the tone with the fastest 50-run opening stand in Test history off just 18 balls. Rohit said everything seems perfect as things fell in the right place but he also knows what could have happened if their attacking batting didn’t come off.
“We had to take risks to get a result. I know the result could have gone either way but I was ready for it, so was the coach and the other players. You have to be brave enough to take those decisions and go and play that way. When things fall in place, everything looks good and that is where, it can change very quickly when things don’t fall in place. Everybody would have started criticising the decision we took and all of that. But what matters is what we think inside this changing room and that is what matters,” Rohit, who hit the first ball he faced for a six by charging down the track to Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana, said.
“It was a clear plan that we want a result. How did we get that… everybody started finding answers to that,” Rohit added.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, it was not the first time they wanted to aggressive cricket to change the course of the match but what Rohit did this time was “walked the talk”. Rohit added that he has a different meaning of aggression. It has a lot to do with how the they bat, biwl and field.
“Aggression is all about your actions. It’s not about my reactions. The kind of batting we do, the kind of field placements that we do, the bowling we do… that to me is aggression.”