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Dinesh Lad, the childhood coach of India captain Rohit Sharma, shared his genuine opinions on Men in Blue's upcoming World Cup semifinal against New Zealand and feels that this 50-over tournament could be Hitman's last.
As 36-year-old Rohit prepares to lead Team India in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, there have been some rumours suggesting that the opener will be playing his final World Cup. Rohit's childhood coach believes as the batter will be around the age of 40 at the time of the next World Cup there are fewer chances that the India captain will play the next Maqueer event. However, there has been nothing official about India skipper's retirement. "Chances really look as if this could be his last World Cup. The way he is progressing... because he is 36 now and the next World Cup is in 4 years and generally at the age of 40 cricketers don't play. But I feel that this could be his last World Cup. He also wants to win the cup for the country. Because he was not a part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team India. It will be really proud moment for me to see the World Cup in his [Rohit] hands. He has been a positive cricketer since the very beginning and it is his plus point," Dinesh Lad told ANI in an exclusive interview. Dinesh is ecstatic at India's perfect performance in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. Talking about India's chances of winning the semifinal against New Zealand, Dinesh said, "The way India is performing right now if we continue playing like this in this tournament, we have a good chance. Our batsmen are batting very well. Rohit and Gill are giving a solid start to the team, overall whole team is playing really well. I think our chances of winning are very high." Dinesh expressed his appreciation for the Men in Blue's skipper, Rohit and expressed his desire to see him take the prized trophy. Lad reflected on Rohit's outstanding performance, highlighting the captain's dominance with the bat, scoring 503 runs in nine innings with a strike rate of 121.50. Lad voiced optimism in India's World Cup victory, highlighting both batsmen and bowlers' great performances. "The way he is batting, it seems like he will score a century in every match. He is playing for the team. But he knows that if he gives a solid start then it will be easier for the coming batters. I really want Rohit to score a century on this ground. But even if he gives a good start for the country, I will feel very good," Dinesh told ANI. India has dominated the 2023 World Cup, winning all nine of their group-stage games and being the only undefeated team in the tournament. Men in Blue will face-off against New Zealand at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai in the first semifinal of the World Cup on Wednesday. India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna and Suryakumar Yadav. New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee and Will Young. (ANI)
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