No excuses as India prime themselves for Super 8 challenge

India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed that his unit was eagerly awaiting the second stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

India topped Group A of the Men's T20 World Cup to enter the Super Eight stage of the event. A comfortable win over Ireland was followed by two gritty contests, against Pakistan and USA respectively, but team India managed to secure a victory in both these games.

A washed-out encounter with Canada ensured that India topped their group even as they enter next stage of the tournament.

Slated in Group 1 alongside Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the Men in Blue are keen to continue their unbeaten run.

"There's real keenness in the group to go and do something special. That's a good way to start the second stage of the tournament," Rohit told BCCI during a training session ahead of the Super Eight phase.

Even as the side went about honing their skills in the practice sessions, Rohit spoke of the challenges of playing three games in the span of five days, but believed that this wouldn't hamper their chances.

"It clearly shows that everybody wants to make a difference and we take our skill sessions quite seriously. There's something to achieve every skill sessions that you do. After we play our first game, we'll play our next two games in a span of three-four days," he noted.

"It's going to be a little hectic but we're used to all of this. We travel a lot, we play a lot. So that's never going to be an excuse.

"We'll look to focus a lot more on our skills and what we need to do as a team rather than what others are doing. Every (practice) session then becomes really important, to make the best use of it."

India's group stage took place in USA, whereas teams like Afghanistan, and Australia had the luxury of playing in the West Indies during the first round. This was, however, not a concern for Rohit.

"We've seen a lot of games here, we've played a lot of games here. Everyone understands what one needs to do, to get the result in our favour," he said.

"Everyone's looking forward and quite excited at the same time."

India commence their Super Eight round of matches against Afghanistan on June 20 in Barbados.