“Once you wear the Indian jersey, it is motivation enough to go and perform on the field. If you are not motivated enough wearing the Indian jersey, then you are just doing yourself a favour by showing up on the ground.” Those are the words of Rohit Sharma and that’s how confident and motivated he sounds at this very moment. You can almost gauge from his body language and the way he talks and responds to questions that this guy means business. In a free flowing chat with a select media at Adelaide, Rohit did a rewind by going back to his days as a passionate kid watching the World Cup on TV. That kid is now one of the key members in the Indian team this World Cup. Rohit has come a long way. “I still remember the catch Ajay Jadeja took in the 1992 World cup off Alan Border and it is my oldest World Cup memory,” he says. “I remember watching it on TV and that was the time the World Cup fever was growing in India. Also, The India-Pakistan match at centurion in 2003 is the best I have watched Sachin Tendulkar bat. You could feel the heat. Even though I was not playing the game I could feel it. It was good to watch that game and it is something I will never forget. Right from the toss till the last ball, everything was intense and I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV. “When it comes to the most recent one, it has to be the final of the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai. I was not part of the side but it was good to watch the boys lift the World Cup. It is something that is going to remain in our memories forever since it was played at home. “Now, being a part of the team, there are a bit of nerves but also excitement at the same time. I am looking forward to the warm-up game tomorrow (against Australia) which will also be my first World Cup experience. I missed out on the last World Cup in India and I am keen to make this one count and make it big without putting much pressure on myself,” he says. Talking about pressure, when the opening batsman was asked about the pressure of the India-Pakistan game, he replied, “The pressure will be on them rather than us. They are the ones who have not won a game against us in the World Cup. We will try and use it to our advantage. “It will be a big game against Pakistan. But we need to concentrate more on the process rather than taking it as an India-Pakistan game. The result will take care of itself if we concentrate on the process and we know what we need to do to be at our best. Any World Cup game will be an important one and the first game won’t be any different. We will give our fans some happy memories to go back with.” Rohit oozes confidence and India would want his bat to do the same. His bat did do the talking against Australia in the recently concluded tri-series where he scored a ton, but following that performance, Rohit has been out of the side due to a hamstring injury. “I will be playing the warm-ups and am good to go,” Rohit said, giving an update on his injury. “I had issues with my hamstring but over the past few days I have been working on it and recovered well thanks to the medical staff. Injuries are part of the game and out of your control. What I can control is my confidence and preparations ahead of the World Cup.” A few days off sure seems to have done good to the Indian team as most of the team members looked in good spirits. While the rest of the team members took some time off shopping, switching off their mobile phones and playing causal rounds of volleyball on the beach, Rohit had decided to hold himself up in Adelaide and avoid all the travelling. For Rohit and co, Adelaide is almost like home. “Adelaide has been like home now and we have enjoyed our time here. We went to the Vineyards and the beach and ate at lovely Italian joints. It is a wonderful place and the break has served us all well.” India have got a much deserved break and at the same time got ample time to acclimatise to the conditions in Australia. This according to Rohit will prove to be an advantage. “Before the start of the World Cup, we knew that it would be an advantage playing in Australia. Now that we have been here for such a long time we can’t make excuses of conditions and pitches. We know the conditions better than any other team other than Australia here. It is now up to us to make use of it in the best possible way. We know our success formula and we would try to let it reflect in the World Cup.”