In a captivating evening filled with insights and anticipation, the ICC event “An Afternoon with Test Cricket Legends at The Oval” witnessed notable remarks from Team India skipper Rohit Sharma and Australia captain Pat Cummins. Rohit Sharma emphasized the challenges of batting in England’s testing conditions, emphasizing the need for mental fortitude and prolonged concentration. He also acknowledged The Oval as one of the finest batting wickets, where shot-making is rewarded.
Meanwhile, Pat Cummins discussed the intense workload awaiting the Australian team and expressed the importance of finding a balance between preparation and rest. As the stage is set for the ICC World Test Championship Final, these remarks shed light on the players’ mindset and the strategies they employ in their quest for success.
The WTC Final will be LIVE & Exclusive on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar from 7-111th June, 2023.
Speaking in the event “An Evening with Test Cricket Legends at The Oval”, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma said “England, in general, is pretty challenging conditions for the batters, but as long as you are prepared to have a good grind, you know, you can have some success as a batter,”. He added “One thing I realised batting [in 2021] was you are never in actually, because the weather keeps changing a lot. So you got to keep concentrating for longer periods of time and that is the challenge of this format. You know you’ll get that message, or you can get that intuition when it is your time to take the bowler on, and that is when you should be ready for it and more importantly you need to be there.”
Rohit also spoke about the batting conditions at The Oval, “As we know that this is probably one of the best batting wickets as well,” he said. “You get value for your shots, the square boundaries are quite quick. So it’s just about giving yourself the best chance of having success, which is to concentrate for longer periods of time.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins spoke about the intense workload for the Australian team for the next two months, he said “So, yeah, we try and take a break when we can. I’ve always said that we have got six Test matches in the next two months, I’d much prefer to be slightly underdone than overdone. That’s from a bowler’s point of view. I always feel like it doesn’t take too much to kind of get ready. And then I want to make sure I’m fresh physically for the matches.” He added “Obviously back home, we did a lot of training as well. So everyone’s come in, we’ve trained really hard, everyone’s rejuvenated, refreshed and pretty keen.”
Catch all the action of the ICC World Test Championship, India vs Australia, 7-11th June, 2023, LIVE & Exclusive on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar
