T20 World Cup: Don’t count too much into IPL performances, says Rohit Sharma
Mumbai Indians captain says international and franchise cricket are different ballgames
Abu Dhabi: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma asserted that he “wouldn’t count too much into” the performance of the Indian players in his IPL side, who are also a part of the squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin in a week’s time here.
Six Mumbai Indians players - Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Chahar - are also part of the 15-member Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, beginning October 17.
Asked how challenging is it to handle a team that has six players who are up for a global event immediately after the IPL, Sharma said, “Honestly, when you go there, to play international cricket, it is a different ballgame. I don’t want to count too much into the IPL and what is going to happen in the T20 World Cup. T20 World Cup and franchisee cricket are different. So you cannot really compare or look too much into those aspects.
“Yes, form matters, but it is a different squad there, a different squad here, the way we play here is different from what we do there. So there’s a lot that goes into the understanding of the two teams. You cannot go much into it. Yes, all these guys who will play the World Cup would’ve liked to have a good run, but that didn’t happen,” added Sharma.
Pointing out the knocks from Ishan Kishan (84) and Suryakumar Yadav (82) in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, Sharma said that those were “fine performances” ahead of the World Cup.
“You saw a couple of fine performances from Surya and Ishan. Again, when you talk about the T20 World Cup, there will be a couple of practice games so that the guys can get back into the rhythm and see what we can do there.”
With the mega auction coming up next year, Sharma did not want to be drawn into the discussion just yet.
“Look, right now we don’t know what is going to happen. The rules are not out yet. There’s not much clarity as to how many players you can retain and what is going to happen. So we have no idea about that. But once the rules are received, I will probably be able to tell you which player we will be retaining.”