“I don’t know too much but from whatever I know I think everything seems pretty okay,” Rahul said on Friday. “There’s no real concerns about anyone missing games as far as I know. We’ll probably know more in today’s training.
“Yeah everyone’s been in the gym, everyone’s been at training the last time as well, so yeah [there were previously] some concerns but I don’t think it’s too much.”
India, like New Zealand, go into this game knowing they have already qualified for the semi-finals. And for India, that semi-final will come two days later, on March 4. Will the short turnaround in games prompt India to rest anyone? “Luckily I am not in the leadership group to have to make that decision,” Rahul said. “But I am sure there will be some temptation and we have been in these positions before where, if there is an opportunity, you can try out the players who haven’t gotten games.
“But I don’t know if that will happen in a Champions Trophy. And I don’t know if that will happen in tomorrow’s game. We only have one day’s break before the semi-finals [but] we have gotten a six-day break now. So, we probably want all of the players to play the game and get a little bit of time in the middle. This is my version. I don’t know, it might be very different tomorrow.”
“But the good thing is that we have played in Dubai before. And we played on pitches like this. We had a fair understanding that when we come here, this will be the challenge. So we were mentally a little bit prepared and we came here a week early and the practice we were doing also had similar wickets. It just gave us a little bit of time to get used to it.”
“I am not trying to compete with Rishabh or I am not trying to play like him. When he gets his opportunities, I am sure he is not going to try to play like anybody else. He is picked on the basis of how he can play and what he can provide for the team and the same applies to me.”
Rahul on keeping Pant out
“I think on such wickets, whoever is the set batter, the longer he plays, the better it is for the team. And that’s what gives you that extra 30-40 runs. Because if the wickets keep going, the new batters will find it a bit difficult.”
“So yes, there’s always the temptation for the team as well, whoever is the captain, the coach… There’s always that temptation to either play him or play me. There’s always that.
“But yeah, for me, if I’m given the opportunity, I try and see what I can do best. I am not trying to compete with Rishabh or I am not trying to play like him. When he gets his opportunities I am sure he is not going to try to play like anybody else. He is picked on the basis of how he can play and what he can provide for the team and the same applies to me. So I try and do what I do best and try and stick to my game.”
“He’s very accurate. That’s something that not many people talk about. Everyone talks about how he’s gifted and how he can get the ball to seam in any condition and how upright his seam is. But not many people talk about how accurate he is and how sharp he is.”
Rahul on Shami
In his role as keeper, Rahul also had high praise for Shami. “Funnily, somehow, in every game he’ll make sure that I’m diving full-length,” Rahul quipped. “He gives me one or two opportunities to be brilliant behind the stumps or look stupid sometimes.
“With wicketkeeping, I think [he’s] one of the few bowlers that the ball really wobbles. Him and sometimes Bumrah when he bowls in the second or third spell. So that’s been very challenging.
“And yeah, [Shami is] very accurate. That’s something that not many people talk about. Everyone talks about how he’s gifted and how he can get the ball to seam in any condition and how upright his seam is. But not many people talk about how accurate he is and how sharp he is. He can surprise you with his pace. Just the other day in the nets he hit me straight in the [helmet] badge. So, all of these things make him a very difficult bowler to play against.
“Really happy to have him back and I think he’s very close to his best.”
