India’s top order batters must kick on and get big scores if the team are to post competitive totals in the Champions Trophy, captain Rohit Sharma said on Wednesday ahead of their tournament opener against Bangladesh.
Having failed to win the one-day international World Cup on home soil in 2023, India are aiming to win a 50-over title for the first time since their last Champions Trophy triumph in 2013. They finished runners-up in the last edition in 2017.
India are coming off a resounding 3-0 ODI series sweep of England, where they scored 356 in the only game they batted first and Rohit said they would need more of the same to succeed in the longer version of the limited overs format.
Apart from Rohit and his opening partner Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer had decent starts against England but could not convert them into big scores.
“Your top three, four or five batsmen need to get that big score for you to post a big score eventually. I think our top four batters are quite experienced,” Rohit told reporters ahead of Thursday’s match in Dubai.
“We know that once they are set, once they are in, they like to get those big runs. They do understand that and everyone understands that between your top four, one has to get that big score.”
Rohit also hoped his opening partner and vice-captain Gill has a “great tournament” after being awarded the player of the series against England for his tally of 259 runs, which included a century and two fifties.
Gill had come in for criticism after he managed to score only 93 runs in five innings in the test series loss in Australia but Rohit said the 25-year-old must not be judged by his batting performances against the red ball.
India’s spin-heavy lineup takes on Bangladesh in high-stakes Champions Trophy match
“Gill is a very, very classy player. There was never a doubt about his ability in this squad. I think we tend to mix formats and I don’t think that’s the right way to judge any player,” Rohit said.
“Certain players have their strength in certain formats and if one format doesn’t go well, it doesn’t mean that (their performances in) the other format will be the same. It’s there for all of us to see what happened in Australia.
“Things have changed, certainly in a different format. So, with Gill, we know the numbers are crazy. He’s been superb for us in the last three, four years and there is a reason he’s been elevated to vice-captain of the team as well.”
The tournament is being hosted by Pakistan but India are playing all their matches in Dubai due to political tensions.
India will also play Pakistan (Sunday) and New Zealand (March 2) in their group, with the top two sides moving to the semi-finals.
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