Right time to blood youngsters: Rohit

I was only 10 years old when this tournament took place. It gives me immense happiness to lead during Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day ROHIT SHARMA, India captain

The India team for the Nidahas Trophy, also featuring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, is missing big names like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya. However, skipper Rohit Sharma has said he is viewing the absence of the big guns as a chance to enhance the bench strength of the side.

Speaking at the unveiling of the trophy, Rohit said, “It is always important to know your bench strength. Players have been consistently performing on ‘A’ tours, Ranji Trophy, domestic tournaments, age-group games. It is the right time to blood them in. We want to see how they play here and not rush them directly in the ICC tournaments.” Earlier in the practice session, Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusinghe had said India are the favorites but Rohit was cautious in the assessment.

“T20s are such a format where the game can change in a span of one over. It is like the English Premier League, where any team can achieve victory on a given day,” Rohit said.

This is the second time India is playing the Nidahas Trophy. In 1998, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand played a 50-over tri-series which marked the 50th year of Sri Lanka’s independence. India won the title by six runs and the matchwitnessed Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly sharing a then world record opening stand of 252. Rohit recounted the fond memories.

“I was only 10 years old when this tournament took place. It gives me immense happiness to lead the team during Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day,” he said.

Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal said the team was in high spirits heading into the tournament following their victory over Bangladesh. However, he stressed that a lot of hard work needed to be done.