Rohit determined to end barren spell

LONDON: Emphasising that sport is all about winning championships, India skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday said he wants to win one or two major titles before he steps down as captain.

India’s inability to win an ICC title in the last 10 years, despite numerous opportunities, has been discussed consistently ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, starting Wednesday at The Oval.

Rohit had taken over from Virat Kohli as all-format captain after the latter stepped down following the Test series defeat in South Africa in early 2022.

A day before the big final, Rohit was asked about the legacy he would like to leave as captain.

“Whether it’s me or someone else, even the guys before, their role was to take Indian cricket forward and win as many games, as many championships as possible. For me also, it will be the same. I want to win games, I want to win championships. That is what you play for,” Rohit said during the pre-match press conference.

“As a captain, like I said, every captain wants to win championships, So I’ll be no different. I also want to win championships. So for me, it will be nice if I can win one or two championships, as in when I decide to move on from this job.”

He also feels there is little point in thinking too much about the elusive ICC trophy.

“We know what we have won and what we have lost. No point thinking about it repeatedly. During the T20 World Cup also I was asked the same question. The players know what needs to be done.”

Captain suffers blow on left thumb

On another nippy and overcast morning in London, Rohit was among the four squad members who turned up for optional practice. R Ashwin, Umesh and K S Bharat were the others who showed up in the morning session along with the net bowlers.

Rohit was seen holding his left thumb following a hit in the nets but he did not appear to be in a lot of discomfort. On team combination, Rohit did not reveal much and expectedly kept the suspense going till toss time. “I’ve not said that Ashwin is not going to play. We’ll wait until tomorrow (Wednesday)- because one thing I have seen here - the pitch actually changes quite a bit day to day,” he said when asked if it will be difficult to leave out Ashwin.

The pitch wore a greenish look and if conditions remain overcast in the morning, an extra pace option will come in handy.

“I don’t know how drastically but the pitch changes quite a bit in this part of the world. Like, when we played the last Test match here in Oval, it looked very similar to this.

“And then as the game went on, as the day went on, it got better and better, slower and slower. And the reverse swing came into play as well on day five. So, we’re going to consider all of those factors (before deciding the eleven),” said the captain.