‘No Host Role on T20 Cricket’: Rohit Sharma’s Take on the Great Debate in the Shortest Format

India captain Rohit Sharma believes T20 cricket has changed and there is no role left for presenters in the format, adding that he has been exploring what he can achieve more as a batsman even though his shift in approach has caused failures. India’s captain across all formats, Rohit says that as a batsman he wants to do things ‘different’ now without worrying too much about results, and that power hitting could never be his forte. “The way I see it, there’s no role for a presenter now. That’s how T20 cricket is played these days, unless you’re 20/3 or 4, which won’t happen every day,” Rohit told Jio Cinema. .

“Once in a while, you’ll be in that position and then someone needs to anchor the innings and finish with a good score. There’s no role for an anchor anymore, guys are playing differently.” Rohit feels that a change in mindset is mandatory.

“If you don’t change your thinking, you’re going to get crushed. People on the other side are thinking about the game differently and taking it to the next level.”

“The seven batsmen have to play their part, I think if you get a good score it’s good, but even if you get a good 30-40 with just 10-15 or 20 balls it’s (just as) good.” because you’re playing the part for the team. The game has changed,” he added.

The Mumbai Indians and India captain said he has played T20 cricket long enough to stick to one particular batting approach.

“I just want to play that way and see what I can do. I’ve played this format for a long time and a certain way. But now I want to do different things. While I’m doing that, (if) I go out, (it) doesn’t really bother me.” said.

Rohit added: “If you see, in Chennai (vs Chennai Super Kings) and before that in Mohali (vs Punjab Kings), I got zero. In the third game, against RCB, I got the first ball down. I thought I have missed three times in So many tries but okay, this is what I’m going to do.” The 36-year-old said he can’t switch to power hitting because others are doing it and he’d rather get the runs the way he can.

“I know (that) I can’t match the power of guys like Tim David, Kieron Pollard and Cameron Green. They’re power hitters; they can hit 100 meters with ease,” he said.

Rohit also doesn’t believe in the fetish of hitting 100m sixes.

“But I think if I get a six after 65-70 meters, I only have to hit 80 meters. Why do I need to hit 100 meters? I’ll do it once you give up eight runs.”

“I’ll hit 80 yards just because I’m getting six runs, and for that I need to time the ball. I don’t need to force the ball like the other guys do, that’s his strength. My strength is getting the ball in the middle of the bat, which is what we call the sweet spot,” added Rohit.

Rohit said batting star Suryakumar Yadav is reaping the benefits of the hard work he has put in in recent years.

“Look at Surya; he’s not hitting big. He can also hit 100 meters, but his thinking is the same too. Everyone has been watching Surya for the last year or year and a half.”

“But he’s an experienced cricketer, he’s been playing since 2008. If I’m not mistaken, he made his debut in 2010-11. So from the last 10-12 years, he’s playing Ranji Trophy.

“His bats have gone from white to red – he hits so many balls. I’ve seen him from age group cricket – he’s made his tough yards from local cricket to the Ranji Trophy,” Rohit said.

Five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit admitted Mumbai Indians are a superstar team but said the franchise has a system to create superstars out of the players they bring in through their impressive scouting process. .

“Yes, it is a superstar team, but it is because the franchise has worked for it. All these players are part of the large auction group, we have bought them.

“Our scouting team had worked day and night to bring Jasprit Bumrah and Akshar Patel here from Ahmedabad. Hardik (Pandya) and Krunal (Pandya) were seen in 2015 and we brought them here. We have worked hard for it. It was a journey of five years from 2015 to 2020,” he said.

Rohit claimed that young players Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera will be ‘big stars’ not only for Mumbai Indians but for India as well.

“It’s going to be the same story with what happened with Bumrah, Hardik and all these guys. Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera… look at the next two years. But then people will say ‘this is a superstar team.’ Yeah, it’s that we are doing them here. These two guys are going to be big stars for us (MI) and for India,” he said.

Rohit, who will lead India to the final of the World Test Championship and the World Over 50 Cup this year, revealed that he missed most of the 2011 World Cup due to disappointment at not being selected.

“2011 was a big setback for me just because I wasn’t part of the World Cup team. It just hit me really hard, I realized a lot of things had to change. I made a conscious effort to change my game, my routines, all about me.

“I used to live alone; I was like ‘I’m going to stay alone’. Honestly, I didn’t watch the World Cup except for the semi-finals and the final, because I was so disappointed that I didn’t want to watch.” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)