Yuvraj Singh, the 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament, was in a similar phase way back then. "What he told me was to just be in good space," revealed Rohit Sharma.
India's Rohit Sharma plays a shot v SL in Leeds on Saturday. Pic /AFP
Manchester: Rohit Sharma mentioned the words "good space" five times during a 10-minute interaction with the media after notching up his record fifth century of the World Cup on Saturday.
And it's this "good space" that is the secret of the Mumbai batsman's form in the tournament. India's top cricketers were a part of the high-octane Indian Premier League before the World Cup and Rohit was in the thick of things while leading Mumbai Indians to a fourth title.
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He then went on a vacation to Maldives with his family and arrived just a few days before Team India flew out for the World Cup. Form-wise, Rohit wasn't at his best with 405 runs in IPL-12 and scores of 2 and 19 in the two World Cup warm-up matches. He turned to his "elder brother" Yuvraj Singh for advice as the runs were not enough. Yuvraj, the 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament, was in a similar phase way back then. "What he told me was to just be in good space," revealed Rohit.
When the tournament started, Rohit hit the right notes and got remarkably consistent. "As soon as a game gets over, I leave everything behind and start focusing on the new day, which I think really helps me move forward. It did work here, but I don't know if it is going to work in the future as well, because every tournament is different. But here, it is working for me. And that is what I was thinking before the start of the tournament — try and be in good space by doing so many things. That is very personal. So I tried doing all of those things, which helped and worked for me," said Rohit.He even has a particular time to check WhatsApp messages. "Not on the game [day], the next day, when I'm traveling on the bus. I want to stay away from all that and enjoy the beautiful weather in England."
It took legendary Sachin Tendulkar 45 World Cup games to score six centuries. Rohit, who is only into his second 50-over World Cup, has notched up six tons.
'Presently' happy
Rohit feels fortunate to have a bunch of guys in the dressing room who don't discuss his personal milestones. And his family here is a happy distraction. "Those are the things that are keeping me away from staying in the past. Staying in the past is not as important as staying in the present," he said.
Meanwhile, India will hope Rohit's good space continues to grow for the two most important matches of this World Cup.
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