'Team India should play ICC events like Mumbai Indians plays IPL' - Rohit Sharma

Since the past couple of years, the Indian side has emerged as one of the favourites across international cricket. Be it with the white ball or with the red, the Men in Blue have showcased their dominance in every format of the game. Virat Kohli and Co are currently ranked No.1 in Tests and second in One-day Internationals. In the shortest format of the game, India are poised at the No.4 position.

Despite their dominance on the international stage, one thing that has been haunting India in recent times. It’s their performance in the ICC events. The Men in Blue have been unsuccessful to pave their way to the trophy despite being dominant throughout the tournament. In the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, India bowed down against Pakistan in the final after being unbeaten in the tournament.

In the previous year’s World Cup as well, Virat Kohli and Co succumbed to the pressure after being dominant in the early stages of the mega-event. India lost to England and then against New Zealand in the semi-final which led to their ousting from the tournament.

Rohit Sharma had a chat with Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues

India’s opener Rohit Sharma, who was in sublime form during the 2019 World Cup, has opined over the same and has said that Team India should play ICC events like Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai franchise– led by Rohit Sharma– has a trend of losing initial matches in the IPL. However, with the passage of time, MI succeeds in clinching victories in the latter stage of the league.

Rohit Sharma was involved in a video chat with two prominent India Women players– Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues– when he opined over India’s performance in ICC events.

“We lost ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final after being unbeaten till the final. In last year’s World Cup as well, we were mostly unbeaten, we lost to England and then against New Zealand in the semi-final,” said Rohit in the video shared by Baseline Ventures on YouTube.

“Team India should play ICC events like Mumbai Indians plays IPL – (lose a few at the start and continue winning all the games till the end of the tournament) to climb the points table gradually and eventually win the tournament,” Rohit jokingly further opined.

The trio of Rohit, Smriti and Jemimah discussed on a varied range of topics in the video. Rohit also shared many instances including his on-field experiences with the national side as well as with Mumbai Indians.

Rohit was set to lead Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020 and steer them to their fifth title. However, with the outbreak of coronavirus, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely and its future looks bleak considering the current situation. According to many reports, the league can also be scheduled in the latter part of the year before the T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Here’s the video: