Rohit Sharma clears the air on Team India’s dressing room atmosphere

Rohit Sharma had to face a string of daunting questions in the press conference after suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka that jeopardized their Asia Cup campaign. Despite a fine knock from the skipper, the team failed to stand up to the Hitman’s relentless brilliance and a meek submission in the opening half of the second innings by the bowlers cost them dearly.

There are a few reasons for Rohit and Rahul Dravid to believe that some more work needs to be put in. However, the captain was fiercely protective of his teammates and made it clear that based on two games, he was not going to judge the performances of a dynasty that has been built by the Men in Blue.

Talking about the team temperament, a factor that went a proverbial mile in defining thrillers, Rohit said, “I don't think there's anything wrong, it looks like it from the outside, but we don't look at it that way. I've been at many press conferences, and when you lose such questions will be asked. It's normal. But as far as the team is concerned you can go in [the dressing room] and see, all the boys are relaxed and chilled. We need to have such an atmosphere whether you win or lose."

He further added, “We've worked hard to make the team atmosphere that way and all the boys are happy about it. If the dressing room mood is good, eventually the performances you see will happen on the ground. Before the World Cup, it's important for us to keep the atmosphere good and not judge the boys by wins or losses, performances and non-performances. Because whoever is here, they're all good. That thought we need to be consistent with."

Rohit was also assertive about the team changes that the Men in Blue had to make to fit the situation and he was absolutely unapologetic about what the decisions were and he stood by them.

“It's 90-95% settled, just a few changes that will happen. When you talk about experiments, yes, we wanted to try out certain things. If you look at the combination we have been playing before the start of the Asia Cup, it was with four seamers, two spinners and the second spinner was an allrounder. I always wanted to try and find answers as to what happens if you play with three seamers and two spinners, and the third spinner being an allrounder,” concluded the India Skipper.