I do not want to miss out on the World Cup again: Rohit Sharma

Emerging from finger and shoulder injuries that put him out of action for almost two months India batsman Rohit Sharma will take a fresh guard today when India A take on the touring Sri Lankan team in a warmup match at Brabourne StadiumRohit Sharma at the Brabourne Stadium nets yesterday ahead of India As warmup tie against Sri Lanka PicSuresh KKIn an interview with midday the 27yearold opened up on his injury layoff rivalry with statemate Ajinkya Rahane for the ODI openers slot his late entry into Test cricket and a host of other issuesExcerpts from the interviewOn the last seasonThe whole year has not been great Not just for me but also for the Indian team We did not do well outside India But to fire as a unit more time is required It is important to get a little more exposure I understand people talk about performing in overseas conditions It is important for us to learn how to play outside India and the kind of mindset that is required Playing overseas was a good learning experience A couple of times we came quite close to winning a Test match In England we won a Test at Lords but then lost our way Personally I wouldnt say it was disappointing but I was a little upset with my performance I will always keep learning I am in a good space with my cricket right now the mental aspect of my cricket is very good I am coming back after an injury so I will be a little nervous to start off I have learnt a lot in this one year It was a good challenging one with three tours abroad and with not much cricket in India I want to put all that I have learnt into my game when I go out next timeOn being on the bench most of the timeIt dropping from the playing XI has nothing to do with my shots I will back myself to play my natural game With those shots even if I get out I will never mind that When I clear the fielder it is a four or a six It was all about the team combination We wanted to play five bowlers which means one batsman had to sit out and it was always between Ajinkya and me He batted really well abroad and deserved that spot He did well in the Tests I am happy for him I cant do much about ithellip I just got one game I was learning all the time working hard in the nets My focus was there but when you dont get opportunities you cant do much about it I am looking forward to the Australia tourOn his rivalry with Ajinkya RahaneThere is no rivalry between us This is coming only from the media In my absence he is opening in oneday cricket and its not a big issue When Sachin Tendulkar did not play someone else was opening in his place I was injured and someone replaced me in that position My focus right now is on my comebackOn the finger and shoulder injuriesWhen you play well and get injured it is quite frustrating I was very unfortunate to get injured at a crucial period of my career I got injured on the eve of his Test debut against South Africa in 2009 and had to wait five years to make my Test debut Again in England in 2011 I got injured after the first onedayer and missed nine ODIs thereafter Now its nine ODIs ndash three in England three against the West Indies and three against Sri Lanka now mdash Ive missed Its frustrating and it makes your comeback a lot tougher But I understand my game and know how to deal with it I am stronger nowOn the injury layoffInitially I took good rest for a few days I slowly started work on my finger shoulders and the whole body later on Ten days ago I started batting Im excited to be back and play tomorrow For the past few days I wasnt comfortable about my batting I wanted to get that feeling back of how I used to bat before the injury It is not the same when you come back after an injury I am more or less comfortable now When I play tomorrow I will be able to anlayse it properly I also watched a lot of movies spent time with my family and close friends I cant single out which movie but all sorts of movieshellip comedy thriller scifi My mental peace is my biggest strength That really helped me calm downOn the fear of missing out on the World Cup againWhen injuries happen you dont know how long it is going to take With the 2015 World Cup being far away I wasnt thinking about it then when he got injured in England But that fear of missing the World Cup will always be there because I missed out on it in 2011 and I dont want to miss out on it anyhow this time This injury took about two months exactly The doctors told me it would take around four to six weeks But I am excited to play a match tomorrowOn the Test careerSeven years since his international debut seven Tests mean I have played one Test every year which is not a good statistic I am disappointed but fortunes have also not gone my way I was to make my Test debut in 2009 but got injured and had to wait till 2013 Injuries and a couple of disappointing series have kept me away I am to be blame and no one else But I cannot get frustrated and think too much about my game I want to stay positive and look forward to every challenge Hopefully I will have much more to talk about when I meet you in 2015 It has not been great till now I am looking at the next five months as tough and challenging part of my careerOn proving his Test mettleI have nothing to prove to anyone I have to prove it to myself that I am much more capable of what I have done so far The next five months I have to be very focused and thought the process has to be very clear I cannot have too many thoughts in my mind These two months that I got were very helpful to work on the mental side of my gameOn living up to the potential of being a gifted batsmanThere is nothing like being gifted Talking about myself I wasnt a gifted batsman I was a bowler when I started and had to work my way to become a batsman Nothing has been gifted naturally to me I have worked with my coaches at a young age on my batting That elegance and all is good to see on TV but you need to bring that into your game during practice Nothing comes to me naturally All that youll see is a result of sheer hard workOn avoiding distractionsI know what my goal is To get there I have to be disciplined Over the years we learn with experience You learn from people like Sachin Rahul Dravid Anil Kumble VVS Laxman They have had their glamourous life and also a disciplined life and managed their careers very well They were my role models when I came into the Indian team I got to learn a lot from them I have to avoid the distractions if I have to reach my goals