World Cup 2023: Most weren't born in 1983, so we focus on present, not past achievement: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai: India Captain Rohit Sharma said that his team does not think about history, but focus on the present as it does not make any sense for most of the teammates who weren't even born when India lifted the World Cup for the first time.

"Honestly, I mean look, that's the beauty of this team. Half of the guys were not even born when we won our first World Cup. And then when we won our second World Cup in 2011, half of the guys were not even playing the game...

"The focus is always on the present. And that, I believe, is a very, very good thing. Going into a tournament like this, from game number one, the focus has always been on what we can achieve today," he told reporters on the eve of the ICC Men's World Cup semifinal match at Wankhede Stadium here.

Rohit replied to a query whether his teammates think about history when they get into the field or while preparing.

Asked whether the experienced players like himself and Virat Kohli think about history, Rohit said it obviously is in the back of thir mind, but most of the time they talk about today and tomorrow.

"No, I think it's very, you know, obviously in the back of your mind, you know what has happened in the past.

But what has happened in the past is the past. What you can do today, what you can do tomorrow is what, you know, we usually talk about. So, I don't think there's much debate or much talk about what happened ten years ago or five years ago or the last World Cup as well," he said.

India had lifted the first World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev's captaincy by beating Clive Loyld's West Indies team in the final at The Lords.

Asked to comment on the rival team, Rohit said New Zealand is probably the most disciplined and consistent team as they have played semifinals and the finals since 2015 onwards.

"Yeah, look, I mean, overall, whenever we've come up against New Zealand, obviously, they're probably the most disciplined team in terms of how they want to play the game. And they play their cricket very smartly.

"They understand the opposition quite well. Obviously having played with a lot of our players in different stages of their careers, different tournaments, they do understand the mentality of the opposition. It is the same for us as well.

"But, whenever we've played against them, they are the most disciplined team, I would say. And they've been very consistent for so many years now, playing semifinals and the finals of probably all ICC tournaments in the last, I don't know, maybe six, seven years, from 2015 onwards, if I'm not wrong.

"So yeah, and we do understand what they bring to the table and how they play their cricket. We have been closely following all the teams as to where their strength lies, where their weakness lies. And based on that, we try to go out there and play the game," he said.

Asked about the importance of the toss at the Wankhede, Rohit said it is not a factor as four or five games does not tell a lot about the track here.

"Look, I mean, honestly, I've played a lot of cricket here. These four or five games are not going to tell a lot about what Wankhede is. I don't want to talk too much about what Wankhede is. But I certainly believe that toss is not the factor," he said. (UNI)