Rohit Sharma says he's not thinking too far ahead, has fair idea about India squad for ODI World Cup 2023

Mirpur, Dec 3: India skipper Rohit Sharma said he's not thinking too far ahead about the ODI World Cup 2023 and claimed along with head coach Rahul Dravid he has a 'fair idea' of how to approach the showpiece event which is scheduled to be held in India. India will host the quadrennial event in October-November and many believe the Men In Blue haven't yet cracked the ODI code to succeed in the tournament.

When asked if the team will kick-start World Cup preparations starting with the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, Rohit made it clear that there is still time before they start thinking specifically about the marquee event.

"Every time you play a game, it's preparing for something. The World Cup is still 8-9 months (10 months) from now. We can't think so far ahead. We need to keep an eye on what we need to do as a team," Rohit told media persons ahead of the first ODI.

The Mumbaikar said if he starts planning too early, it won't help but also made it clear that the team think-tank knows in which direction it needs to travel.

"It is very, very important for us not to start thinking about so many things. Like we need to play this guy or that guy. Me and coach (Dravid) have fair idea what to do. We will narrow it down once we come closer to the World Cup," he added.

Workload management must as some India players on road for long

A few players like wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, with this Bangladesh series, will be on the road for more than two and half months and the skipper emphasised on the requirement of workload management. The captain admitted that a lot of cricket is being played and it won't stop. It is the team and people around it who need to do the right things.

"As professionals, we have to keep up the intensity. Yes, there's a lot of cricket and that's why we give them breaks. And people need to understand that when we give players a break, it is only to manage the workload keeping the bigger picture in mind.

"Cricket is not going to stop. There will always be lot of cricket and we need to manage our players. You want your best players to play with higher intensity all the time. So it is important to give them breaks, manage them as freshness is very important," Rohit elaborated.

Hectic schedule affects performance

He then gave a peek into his team's gruelling schedule during the past few months. "Lot of the guys have been on the road before the World Cup and we had two back-to-back series versus Australia and South Africa. And then, we went straight to Australia. It has already been two and a half months. It is impossible in this day and age that you will always play with your best 15. It's not going to happen," he was blunt.

(With PTI inputs)