“It’s a bit of both” – Rohit Sharma attributes India’s knockout stage failures to fear of failure and bad luck ahead of 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that India hasn’t been able to cross the final hurdle in the major ICC events because of fear of failure and bad luck. Team India last won a major ICC title back in 2013 when MS Dhoni took the team to glory in the Champions Trophy.

Since then, India has consistently made it to the knockout stages of the big matches but they haven’t been able to go all the way. India lost to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal as they came up with a timid batting approach and then also lost the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia.

Rohit Sharma said in the pre-match press conference, “It’s a bit of both. We want to treat this game as another game that we have played in this tournament. We don’t want to think about what lies ahead and what the context of the game is and all that.

“Everyone knows in the back of their mind, it’s a semi-final. You don’t want to keep talking about it again and again. And not to think about what has happened in the past.”

Rohit added that they are playing well as a group and will want to keep up the good show against England.

“I think the entire group is in a good frame of mind. We are playing well as a team, enjoying each other’s company and success. So I think it’s important to carry on what we have been doing in this tournament.

“Yes, we have been put under pressure at times and I thought we responded pretty well. That is probably because we are not thinking too far ahead,” said Rohit.

India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday.