India captain Rohit Sharma was miffed at a question during Tuesday’s India vs Ireland T20 World Cup pre-match press conference in New York. Rohit, who was answering all the queries patiently, appeared irritated when an Indian journalist asked his opinion about the pitch invader during India’s only warm-up match against Bangladesh at the Nassau County International Stadium on June 1.
“During the warm up game, a fan had suddenly come on the ground. The way the security caught him, you were requesting him to take it easy. Can you tell us about the emotion at that time?” the reporter asked.
Rohit made his disappointment clear by letting the reporter know that the question was not as incidents like these should not be promoted. “Sabse pahle toh main bolunga ki koi bhi aise ground mein intrude na kare. Ye sahi nahi hai aur yeh sawal bhi sahi nahi thha (See, first of all, I would say that no one should intrude into the ground. This is not right. And this question was also not right, because we don’t want to promote this thing that who is running and coming to the ground),” Rohit said.
During the warm-up match, a spectator at the brand-new stadium in New York breached the security at the venue to meet Rohit. It happened during Bangladesh’s chase. The fan did manage to hug the Indian captain before two policemen tackled him down and handcuffed him, during which Rohit urged the security personnel to be gentle with the fan and not hurt him.
‘Security important for both players and fans’: Rohit
“I think, players’ security is important, similarly, the security of the people outside is also important. We are playing cricket, yes, but the people sitting outside, it is important for them to understand that there are rules and regulations for every country. It is very important to follow them and understand them. So, that’s all I can say. Now, what more can I say?
“See, the rules are different in India and here. So, understand the rules, what is there and what is not. See the match, they have made such a good stadium. You can watch the match comfortably. No need to run to the ground, no need to do all this, I think,” the Indian captain added.
When asked if it acts as a distraction for the players in the follow-up question, Rohit said: “No, no, it’s not a distraction. Look, our focus is on some other things. We don’t focus on who is running to the ground and what to do. I don’t think that any player will be distracted by that. Because a lot of big things are going through their minds. How to win a match, how to make a run, how to take a wicket. I’m sure everyone is thinking about that. So, I don’t think that players can be distracted by such things. So, I don’t think we can distract the players.”