Ashwin, Pant, Rohit Sharma, Bumrah weigh in on pressure of expectations Indian team deal with

Giving insights into the amount of pressure the star-studded Indian side face over time from fans, Indian star players have opened up on what it means to be a Test cricketer for India and how do they deal with the enormous pressure of expectations.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that Indian Test cricketers are special for having the skills in them to soak up the pressure as every time they feature in a global tournament, there are huge rounds of expectations that they will be champions. He said that a cricketer while he is stepping up every ladder to play for India understands a fair bit of what sort of pressure they will have to deal with at the international level.

“As a kid when you grow up to play cricket in India, you know what the adulation is, you know what the expectation is, you know what the pressure is gonna be like. We all crave it. What makes a Test cricketer in India very special is the ability to be able to handle pressure and repeat good performances over a period of time. The expectation for an Indian team to win a tournament is always gonna be high,” the champion spinner said in an ICC video released on Twitter giving insights about the Indian side.

Speedster Jasprit Bumrah, who has risen through the ranks at a rapid rate since his debut in 2018, said that he tries to ‘block’ out the ‘outside’ and ‘unnecessary’ noise of expectations as it can bring unnecessary pressure on him. 

He said Cricket, the game itself is already a very demanding game and so far he has chosen to take one day at a time instead of getting bogged down by the weight of expectations.

“For me personally, I try not to focus on all those expectations. I try to take it one day at a time because if I let the outside noise affect me all the time, then there is unnecessary pressure. Anyway, it’s a high-pressure sport and a lot of responsibilities are on you. I look to block all of that, try to focus on things I have to do, try to enjoy the game and try to take it one day at a time. So rest will take care of itself,” Bumrah said in the same video.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has emerged as the firebrand cricketer of the Indian side over the last few series, conceded that he feels the ‘expectation pressure.’ However, he said that he just does not want to feel ‘that kind of pressure’ as it can hamper his best efforts in the field and hence he focuses only on giving his best and making the team proud while out there in the field.

“Yes, there is expectation pressure but if I think about that I can’t give my 100 per cent in the field. I don’t want to give myself that kind of pressure. I just want to give my 100 per cent each and every day and make my team proud. That’s the only thing I can do,” Pant said.

Opener Rohit Sharma has a lot of things riding on his shoulders if India have to clinch the first edition of the World Test Championship. He has the monumental task of combatting the Kiwi quartet of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner. 

However, he said that he no longer feels weighed down under the huge amount of pressure of expectations and goes out on the field to just enjoy the game. He said that Cricket will always be played for a ‘limited' period of time and hence it is important for individual players to enjoy the game itself to get relieved of the pressure.

“I used to feel it when I was 20. But right now, for me, it’s all about just going out there and having fun. At the end of the day, this game is all about having fun. It’s a good bunch of individuals that we have together and cricket is played for a limited period of time and you should remember to have as much fun as possible as well,” Rohit asserted.

The first day of the World Test Championship final has been washed out by persistent rain in Southampton. The weather forecast for the remainder of the schedule does not look any promising either and both India and New Zealand will have to be at their absolute best to enforce result in the game if the rain continues to affect the play.