“Firstly, I want everyone to be available” - Rohit Sharma’s latest response on India’s inability to win ICC events 

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma, like his predecessor Virat Kohli, has often been probed about the side’s failure to win ICC tournaments since 2013. On Tuesday, July 11, he gave a prompt response when the query was put forward to him again, stating that he wants all his players to be available.

Under Rohit, India were hammered by 10 wickets by England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final. In the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June, they went down to Australia by 209 runs.

India will kick off proceedings in their new WTC cycle (2023-25) by taking on West Indies in a two-match Test series, which begins in Dominica on Wednesday, July 12.

At a press conference ahead of the game, Rohit answered the almost inevitable query on India’s inability to win ICC tournaments.

“Firstly, I want everyone to be available. All my players, I want them to be available 100 percent. I don’t want any injury concerns. That’s first and foremost,” he said.

Rohit went on to admit that India have not ‘crossed the line’ for a long time. He, however, added that they have been playing good cricket overall, but need some luck as well. Asserting that India will keep trying hard, Rohit said:

“I feel that as long as you keep ticking the boxes, keep playing good cricket, things will fall into place. Overall the years, we have done a lot of good things. It’s just that sometimes you want luck to be on your side as well. Over last five-six years, we have probably won everywhere, but yes, winning championships are important as well. Until, we get that championship, we are going to keep fighting hard for it.”

India haven’t won an ICC event since 2013 when MS Dhoni lifted the Men in Blue to victory in the Champions Trophy.

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“Every series that you play for India is challenging” - Rohit

As mentioned earlier, the West Indies series will mark the beginning of the new WTC cycle for India. On starting off with a series in the Caribbean, Rohit replied that every series is challenging, irrespective of when it is played or where.

“Every series that you play for India is challenging. Be it a new WTC cycle or the last one or one in between, every game is important. We played two finals in two cycles, but could not achieve what we wanted. This a new team, there are a lot of new players. There will be a different challenge in this cycle,” the skipper said.

“West Indies play well at home. Their past record at home is very good, so it will be a good challenge for our team. I hope we accept the challenge and play well,” Rohit added.

After the Dominica clash, India will take on West Indies in the second Test at Port of Spain in Trinidad from July 20 to 24.