Rohit Sharma on Nassau County’s New Stadium: ‘We’re Looking to Understand the Conditions’
India is set to face Bangladesh in a warm-up match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, their sole preparation game before the T20 World Cup. Indian captain Rohit Sharma emphasized the importance of quickly acclimatizing to the new environment in New York ahead of their campaign opener against Ireland on June 5.
“We’re looking to understand the conditions more importantly (before the tournament proper) as we haven’t been here before,” Rohit told the ICC. “(We will) try and make the most of the conditions, get used to what it’s going to be like on June 5 when we play our first game. It’s just about getting into that rhythm of getting the feel of the ground, pitch, and stuff like that.”
Team India, under Rohit’s leadership, has already begun intensive preparations, hitting the nets to gear up for the World Cup. Commenting on the newly-constructed stadium, Rohit said, “It looks beautiful. It’s quite an open ground. When we come here and play our first game, I just can’t wait to feel the atmosphere in the stadium. It’s a decent capacity as well. Hopefully, it’s gonna be a good one.”
Rohit also expressed hope that the fans will turn out in large numbers to support their teams. “People in New York will be very interested in coming and watching the World Cup, as it is happening for the first time here. I’m pretty sure all the fans across various teams are quite excited and looking forward to this tournament. And also as players (we) can’t wait to get started,” he noted.
Bangladesh Captain Impressed by Stadium
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was equally impressed by the new facility, having only seen it through photos and time-lapse videos during its construction. “It’s unbelievable. I think it’s crazy,” Shanto said.
“We all saw on the internet there was nothing (three months ago). Now it looks like a proper stadium and feels great. The Eastern grandstand (in particular), I didn’t expect it to be like this. I think it’s almost a proper stadium. The ground itself looks very good. It’s a proper cricket ground.”
“To be very honest, I wasn’t expecting anything like this but we all followed on social media how the wicket looks like, how the ground would be, and we are very excited as to what is going to happen here. It feels very good and looks crazy to me,” Shanto added.
Both teams are eager to get accustomed to the new venue and are looking forward to the challenges and experiences it will bring as they prepare for the T20 World Cup.
