India's Rohit Sharma previews the huge clash with Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup
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00:00 [ Inaudible ]
00:16 >> Samira Hussain from BBC News.
00:19 You know, you're playing, this is like the biggest rivalry
00:22 in sports, India versus Pakistan.
00:25 You're playing in Narendra Modi Stadium,
00:28 and you're playing to a predominantly Indian cricket
00:33 fan base.
00:34 At what point does home advantage actually become a
00:38 disadvantage?
00:40 >> I don't think there is any disadvantage.
00:49 You know, you feel nice about playing
00:53 in front of your home crowd.
00:55 They get behind you, no matter what the situation
00:59 of the game is.
01:02 My overall experience playing, not just in India,
01:05 even outside India, we get massive support.
01:09 So I have so far never experienced where, you know,
01:13 the crowd has gone against us or anything like that.
01:15 So I look at this as a good advantage, big advantage.
01:20 But we know that eventually it boils
01:24 down to playing good cricket.
01:26 And whatever it takes to win the game, you've got to do that.
01:28 So yes, you can use the support, but eventually you've got
01:32 to play good cricket to win the game.
01:35 >> Over 100,000 cheering must be the biggest number against,
01:40 you know, to a team.
01:42 How will it be, you know?
01:44 Is it a kind of a big boost?
01:48 And, you know, what have you told the boys how
01:50 to go about it?
01:52 >> No, look, you know, all the guys are quite used to playing
01:56 in front of big crowds.
01:59 So, you know, like I just said, now,
02:03 it can only work in your favor.
02:06 It cannot work against you.
02:09 You know, a lot of the guys in the team loves big crowd,
02:13 the cheer, the noise in the ground.
02:17 So, yeah, the boys really enjoy it.
02:21 You know, like I said, anywhere we go,
02:24 people turn out in huge numbers.
02:26 And that is, you know, good for the team and also good
02:30 for the sport in general as well.
02:33 >> Rohit, more than the crowd,
02:35 I think it will be all the other things that also matter
02:38 for an India-Pakistan game.
02:39 You had earlier spoken about just shutting out the noise.
02:42 How do you do it?
02:44 You've shut down your phones.
02:45 You've not taken to Twitter.
02:48 >> I'm not on social media for the past nine months now.
02:52 So everyone has their own way of dealing with it.
02:56 Some people like it, some don't.
02:58 But that's not my place to tell anyone how to do it.
03:02 You know, they have to work out their own way
03:04 of dealing with these things.
03:08 Like I said many a times before, in the context of it, yes,
03:15 it's a massive game, but for us, what is important is, you know,
03:20 we are playing an opposition tomorrow which will be quality.
03:25 So we just got to, you know, come against a quality opposition
03:29 and play good cricket, which we've done in the last two games.
03:32 And hopefully we can again, you know, show some consistency
03:38 in our performance and play good game of cricket.
03:43 >> Hi, Rohit here.
03:45 Shubman had a hit at the nets yesterday.
03:47 So how is he health-wise and is he available
03:50 for selection tomorrow?
03:52 >> Ninety-nine percent he's available.
03:57 Ninety-nine percent he's available.
04:02 We'll see tomorrow that.
04:06 >> Rohit, you have been a very prominent member of the team
04:09 in the last World Cup as well.
04:11 How much has it changed in the last four years in terms
04:14 of mental conditioning, technical preparation
04:18 and the World Cup?
04:18 How much has it changed from 2019 to '23?
04:24 >> Not a lot, to be honest.
04:27 You know, I know what are the things that I need to do
04:32 to find success on the field in terms of me as a player
04:38 and then me as a captain.
04:40 But speaking of just the player first, the batter,
04:44 I think there are certain boxes, you know, for me that I have
04:48 to pick before every game.
04:50 It's just to get you that confidence.
04:52 You know, for me, preparation is very important.
04:55 And I've spoken at the start of the World Cup that I need
04:58 to prepare well to get into the tournament.
05:01 And I thought I've done everything that I can
05:02 from my side to prepare well for each game.
05:07 Because we know every day is a new day, fresh day.
05:12 And you start your fresh day as a new challenge.
05:16 What you've done in the past, what you've done yesterday,
05:19 doesn't really matter too much.
05:22 You can take a bit of confidence from that.
05:24 But, you know, like we know in sport, every day is a fresh day.
05:29 You play different opposition, they bring you new challenges.
05:32 And you just got to be ready to face that challenge
05:36 and confront that challenge.
05:38 So I think for me as a batter, you know,
05:41 that is something that I've really focused on,
05:43 getting myself ready in however way I can,
05:46 and whatever it takes for me to get ready for any game.
05:50 I have to do that.
05:51 And I've done that really well mentally,
05:55 you know, understanding my game, which is very important.
05:59 And I understood my game, what is my game,
06:02 and what is the team's requirement from my game,
06:05 and from my ability.
06:08 So I think I try and do all of that to the best of my ability.
06:14 If it comes out, it comes out.
06:16 If it doesn't, it's OK.
06:18 You know, as long as I know that before entering the game,
06:21 I've ticked all the boxes, I'm happy with that.
06:24 [INAUDIBLE]
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06:31 During the middle of the second innings,
06:44 it did play a bit of part.
06:45 So a toss, is it going to be important because of the due
06:49 now?
06:50 Honestly, I don't know how much of a factor
06:54 it is going to be because in Delhi, we were expecting
06:58 due to come in.
06:58 It didn't come.
07:00 Chennai also, it was after probably 30 overs.
07:04 So you're done with 75% of the game by then.
07:08 So I don't think toss is going to play a massive factor.
07:12 You know, it is what the team is comfortable doing,
07:15 whether it is chasing first, hosting a total,
07:19 whatever that is.
07:20 You know, whatever the team is comfortable doing,
07:22 we try and do that.
07:23 Rohit, with the success that you had in Chennai
07:36 with three spinners, are you going to do the same tomorrow?
07:40 I don't know, honestly.
07:41 I don't know.
07:42 I still haven't looked at the pitch yet.
07:44 But we are ready for whatever combination we want to play.
07:47 You know, that's the challenge going forward for us
07:51 as a team, depending on what kind of conditions we play in.
07:56 If there is a change or two we need to make,
07:58 we will be ready with that.
08:00 And you know, the guys have been informed very well in advance
08:03 about these kind of changes.
08:06 So I don't think it's going to be any issues with the players.
08:10 But if the requirement is there for us to play three spinners,
08:15 we will play three spinners.
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08:41 Psychological advantage.
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08:46 the team.
09:07 Evenly starting.
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09:14 before they go into the game.
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09:20 just about handling the pressure,
09:23 dictating terms on your own way.
09:26 All these things matter.
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09:36 And then carrying that forward, carrying that momentum forward
09:39 is something that is crucial.
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10:45 Rohit, India has a 10% record against Pakistan
10:49 in the World Cup.
10:50 So does that become something like a mill around the neck,
10:55 an issue of pressure?
10:57 Or does it become work the normal way?
11:02 I'm not a person who looks into all that kind of stats.
11:05 You've got to play good cricket on that particular day
11:07 to win the game.
11:09 And that is what we will be focusing on,
11:10 playing good cricket, and how we can play good cricket,
11:15 which is understanding the conditions, what
11:18 is required from the team's perspective,
11:20 and things like that.
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11:51 Whether it is spinners or seamers,
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12:58 And it is always nice to go into any World Cup game
13:06 with that kind of rhythm and that confidence.
13:08 So I think--
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13:12 I think--
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13:15 Yeah, you have choice of both kind of wickets
13:21 at this ground, black and red soil wickets.
13:24 As a captain, as a team, what kind of wicket
13:28 you prefer, black soil or a red soil, if given a choice?
13:31 What would you prefer to play on?
13:33 See, that's the good thing about this team right now.
13:36 It doesn't matter what wicket we play.
13:38 We come here knowing that this is the wicket.
13:43 I don't decide what wicket we need to play.
13:46 Whether it is black, we've got guys
13:49 who can adapt to those kind of conditions.
13:52 Red soil, of course, we've got, again,
13:56 guys who can adapt to those kind of pitches.
13:59 Because these are all Indian cricketers,
14:01 and they've played in all of these conditions.
14:04 So I don't think, as captain, what I prefer,
14:09 I prefer playing on any kind of conditions.
14:12 Because it is something that we have done really well
14:14 over the last few years as a team.
14:17 And we've got the guys who can adapt to different kind
14:20 of conditions as well.
14:21 So that is something which gives us confidence as well,
14:27 going into any sort of conditions.
14:29 So whether it is spinning pitch, seeming track, flat pitch,
14:34 we've got the guys who can do the job for us.