Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium: Rohit Sharma signals ‘change in approach’ for Rajkot T20I vs Bangladesh

The Indian captain has hinted at a change in approach ahead of the second T20I at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

India captain Rohit Sharma has admitted that his team was short in “a lot of departments” in the first T20I of the ongoing Bangladesh’s tour of India in Delhi on Sunday.

“We were short in a lot of departments. It is important to focus on the mistakes we made and make sure those mistakes are not repeated again. That is the sign of a good team, when you don’t repeat mistakes,” Sharma was quoted as saying on the eve of the second match in Rajkot.

Having registered their first T20I defeat against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Sharma acknowledged pressure on the whole team and not any one department in particular.

“Pressure is just on the team to perform, as simple as that. Not a particular department. You’ve lost as a team, you’ve not lost as a bowling unit. So the focus will be on the team.

“The batsmen need to get the job done, the bowlers need to come out and take those crucial wickets. That will be the idea. We are not focusing on any individual departments. Because we lost as a team, not as individuals,” Sharma said.

Rohit Sharma signals ‘change in approach’ at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium

While Sharma didn’t confirm any changes in the Playing XI, he signaled an overall “change in approach” for the second T20I to be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

“The (pace-bowling) combination that we played in the last game, it was based on the pitch that was on offer in Delhi. We will see the pitch again today and we will think what we need to do in our bowling line-up.

“I cannot tell you strategy but what I can definitely tell you is that there will be changes in our approach. We were playing [in Delhi] as per the ways the pitch was reacting. But if the pitch here is good, our approach will be different as well in both bowling and batting,” Sharma added.

Having leaked 18 runs in the penultimate over, India pacer Khaleel Ahmed had received severe criticism in the first match. If India aim to make a change in their XI, they have the option of playing Shardul Thakur ahead of Ahmed.