Wanted: Guys hungry for success, Rohit makes it clear

Ranchi, February 26

India skipper Rohit Sharma today had a stern message for aspirants wanting to make the national Test team without putting in the hard yards, saying opportunities will only be given to those who show “hunger for success” in the “toughest” format.

I don’t see anyone in the team here who is not hungry. All the boys who are here and also those who are not, they all want to play. But the thing with Test cricket is that you get very few opportunities. If you don’t utilise them, they go away. Rohit Sharma, India captain

India sealed a 17th straight Test series win at home after beating England by five wickets in the fourth Test here today.

New entrants like Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Deep played decisive roles in the team’s overall success, leaving Rohit pleased and also quite clear about the kind of talent he wants in the side.

“We will give opportunities to only those who are hungry,” Rohit declared, making it clear that the team management is not willing to entertain players who do not display a burning desire to perform. “Agar hunger nahi hai to unko khila ke koi matlab nahi hai (There’s point in playing those who don’t have the hunger),” he said.

His comments came close on the heels of a BCCI diktat asking players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer to turn up for the Ranji Trophy matches, a missive that was ignored by the duo.

Rohit also rued the lack of adequate recognition for a Test series win at home and the critics’ tendency to go after the team with all their might in the event of a defeat. “Home and away, you can differentiate between the two but if you win at home, not a lot is spoken about, it’s like ‘oh no, India are supposed to win at home’,” Rohit said. — PTI

Despite loss, Stokes proud of England commitment

Ranchi: Ben Stokes was proud of his team’s commitment despite suffering his first series defeat since taking over as England Test captain against India, the 32-year-old said today.

England’s second-innings collapse left India needing 192 to win but it was no cakewalk for the hosts who slumped to 120/5.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir (3/79) led England’s spirited fightback but India could not be denied their third successive victory.

“I think it was a great Test match. The scoreline says India win by five wickets but I don’t think that gives enough credit to sum up the game as a whole,” Stokes said.

“I’ve been doing this for two years now and my message is always consistent -- it’s about your input to the team and don’t worry too much about the output. “Everyone has thrown everything into every Test match here, nothing has been left out on the field and that’s all I will ever ask from them.” Reuters

The series has shown a lot of talent, for us and India. I love Test cricket and we’ve seen some young, inexperienced players perform and the future looks bright in this format. Ben Stokes, england captain

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