Captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said India definitely will have an eye on the T20 World Cup in the upcoming series against England but they don't want to take it as preparation and would try to win and tick all the boxes in every game.
After missing the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Birmingham due to Covid-19, the 35-year-old is now fit and fine to lead India in the T20I series against England, beginning on Thursday. Having trained for three straight days in Birmingham, Sharma linked up with the rest of the group on Tuesday afternoon.
"Of course, we are definitely keeping one eye on the World Cup. I wouldn't say it's preparation. Every game for India matters to us. We want to come here and try and tick every box we have and make sure we get the job done, as simple as that" said Rohit in a press conference on the eve of the first T20I.
Rohit also said that younger players in the team deserve their opportunities after doing well in IPL or for their state teams, adding that England is going to be a very challenging team for them.
"Of course, there are a lot of younger players who are getting the opportunity to represent the country through their performances of their state teams, IPL teams. They deserve their opportunity," he said.
"England is going to be a very challenging team for us, I'm pretty sure these boys have been here for a while. They went to Ireland; they played a couple of practice games here. Now we look forward to this T20 series and thereafter the ODI series as well," he added.
Asked whether Umran Malik is in their plans for the T20 World Cup, the skipper said they are definitely keeping an eye on him and want to see what the young pacer has to offer.
"He [Umran Malik] is very much in our plans. It's just about trying to give him that understanding as to what the team requires from him as well. Yes, there'll be times when we want to try out a few guys and Umran is definitely one of those guys. We're keeping one eye on the World Cup, we want to see what he has to offer for us," said Rohit.
"He's definitely an exciting prospect, there's no doubt about it. We all saw it during the IPL, he can bowl fast. It's just about giving him the role," he added.