- By Namrata Vijay
- Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs BAN ICC Champions Trophy 2025: India skipper Rohit Sharma has slammed the critics who believed that they have included lots of spinners in their squad for the mega-event. During the pre-match press conference, Rohit dismissed the notion that they shouldn't have picked five spinners in their team, since they would be playing all their matches in Dubai.
In the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Rohit revealed that they had picked two full-time spinners in the team and there were three all-rounders, who can both bat and bowl. Sharma slammed the critics and said that when their opposition teams include three fast-bowling all-rounders, they are not questioned about including six pacers in their playing XI.
"They are 2 spinners and 3 all-rounders. I am not looking at them as 5 spinners. Those three guys can bat and can bowl also. The rest of the teams have fast-bowling all-rounders. You don't ask them why they have 6 fast bowlers," Rohit told reporters during the pre-match press conference.
Sharma explained in detail why they selected this team for the mega-event and said that the team management and the selectors were looking for players who could perform both the skills and not just one. He said that players like Washington Sundar and Axar Patel bring brilliant depth to the squad.
"We work on our strengths and build our team around it. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar give us a different dimension to our squad. They give us a lot of depth. That is why we wanted to try and bring players who have 2 skills rather than one skill," he added.
Ex-India cricketer Parthiv Patel had slammed the team management for including five spinners in the team. They opined that they should have chosen one more fast bowler at least.
"India has one too many spinners in that squad. India would have liked to have one more pacer in that side," Parthiv Patel was quoted as saying on Star Sports in the third ODI against England.
"The Dubai surface has a bit more carry than, say, in Sharjah, and the pacers here have found some success. That's why Pakistan has picked more pacers in their squad, though they are supposed to play only a couple of matches here," an ex-national selector was quoted as saying to PTI.
58 ODI have been held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium till now, where fast bowlers have taken 466 wickets at an average of 28.6 and a staggering economy rate of 4.8. The spinners have taken 334 wickets at this venue at an average of 30 and a better economy rate of 4.2
During the recently concluded ILT20 tournament, eight pacers were the top 10 highest wicket-takers and in this list, there were just two spinners. Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker in this list.
HOW ARE INDIA PREPARING FOR DUBAI?
Sharma opined that statistics don't have any effect on their preparation for the mega-event. He revealed that they would be continuing from where they left off during the 2023 ODI World Cup and will play that brand of cricket that almost helped them win the title.
Rohit admitted that their preparation for this tournament against England was brilliant.
"We play this tournament as we've played any other tournaments, whether it is an ICC tournament or any other series that we play for India. Playing for India means a lot to all of us. I think there is enough quality, enough depth, enough experience in the team for us to come here quite confident and be confident about what we want to do here. Then we will see how it goes," he added.
"Against England, we played the brand and the ethics of the team that we wanted to. When you are playing a series before an ICC tournament, you want to tick off certain boxes and I thought we ticked off those boxes and played very good cricket," he said.
The Men in Blue thrashed England 3-0 in the recently concluded ODI series ahead of the mega-event. Shubman Gill was the star player as he scored 259 runs after playing in three matches. Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Rohit himself too scored runs, whereas Ravindra Jadeja performed brilliantly with the ball.
"We wanted to do things where we left off in the World Cup and carry on that kind of momentum into that England series and from there onwards to the Champions Trophy. But we do understand that every series we play is a different challenge, every venue has its challenges, and Dubai obviously will be a different challenge. So quickly assessing what's required to do here tomorrow will be the key for us. So if we can assess quickly, and adjust our batting or bowling quickly, that will help us moving forward," he concluded.