T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit hopes Indians are able to acclimatise quickly in New York ahead of tournament

India captain Rohit Sharma hoped he and his teammates were able to acclimatise quickly to the conditions in New York City before the T20 World Cup gets underway in the United States and the Caribbean.

The ‘Hitman’ also praised the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in NYC, where India play three of their four group matches including their opening match against Ireland on 5 June as well as the blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on 9 June.

India play Bangladesh on Saturday, 1 June in their only warm-up match ahead of the main event, with the match giving Rohit and Co the opportunity to get a feel of the pitch and conditions in New York.

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It will also help them get used to playing a T20 match during daytime after playing evening matches for more than a couple of months in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). The warm-up fixture against Bangladesh as well as their subsequent Group A games start at 10.30 am local time.

”We’re looking to understand the conditions more importantly (before the tournament proper) as we haven’t been here before,” Rohit told ICC.

The Mumbaikar emphasised the need for his side to get into a ”rhythm” before the real action starts, and he wanted to use this side game as a springboard.

”(We will) try and make the most of the conditions, get used to what it’s going to be like on 5 June when we play our first game,” he added.

The challenge for the Indians will be to adapt to the drop-in turf here, something they don’t come across very often in international cricket.

”It’s just about getting into that rhythm of getting the feel of the ground, pitch and stuff like that,” he said.

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Rohit was part of the first batch of India cricketers to arrive at the ‘Big Apple’ on 26 May, along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.

Moving beyond the match routines, Rohit also found time to take in the beauty of the venue.

”It looks beautiful. It’s quite an open ground. When we come here and play our first game, I just can’t wait to feel the atmosphere in the stadium,” he said.

”It’s a decent capacity as well. Hopefully it’s gonna be a good one.”

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Rohit hoped that fans will throng the venue for their matches.

”People in New York will be very interested in coming and watching the World Cup, as it is happening for the first time here.

”I’m pretty sure all the fans across various teams are quite excited and looking forward to this tournament. And also as players (we) can’t wait to get started,” he noted.

Worry for Bangladesh

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto too appreciated the excellent construction in New York, but he would not have forgotten Bangladesh’s shocking series defeat against the USA a few days back.

The United States, largely constituted by expat players, scored a stunning 2-1 win over Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series at home last week, signalling that they are no mere pushovers.

Hence, Shanto might be hoping for a quick turnaround against formidable India, even though it’s a warm-up match at this scenic stadium.

”To be very honest I wasn’t expecting anything like this but we all followed on social media how the wicket looks like, how the ground would be, and we are very excited as to what is going to happen here,” said Shanto.

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The 25-year-old top-order batter then gushed over the venue.

”It’s unbelievable. I think it’s crazy. I mean we all saw on the internet there was nothing (three months ago). Now, it looks like a proper stadium and feels great,” he said.

The Eastern grandstand (in particular), I didn’t expect it to be like this,” he added.

With PTI inputs