His captain in the IPL will be the opponent captain on the field in a few days’ time, but Cameron Green’s admiration for Rohit Sharma will not be hampered because of that.
The all-rounder, who is expected to play a key role for Australia in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) against Rohit’s India, in fact wants to learn from the India captain’s “calmness” on the field.
Green had an impressive debut IPL season at Mumbai Indians under Rohit’s captaincy. With 452 runs and six wickets, Green played a key role in Mumbai’s campaign this season and it was his 47-ball century which propelled his team to the playoffs in a late surge.
Mohammed Siraj at training at The Oval on Sunday. PTI picture
The five-time champions were eventually knocked out in Qualifier 2.
Speaking to the ICC, Green shared his experience of being in the same team as the vastly-experienced Rohit.
“The calmness he (Rohit) has out in the middle is so evident.
“He’s obviously been there and done that for 10 years. To be out there with him and just talk through a situation was awesome,” Green said.
The 24-year-old also spoke about the lessons he learnt from Rohit. “My role was trying to be aggressive and then he obviously showed ways to go about it, whether it was attacking spin, attacking pace, kind of picking your bowler in a way,” he added.
Green joined the Australia side late because of his IPL commitments and made his first appearance at practice session on Thursday.
Green’s rich form in franchise, as well as international cricket, makes him a certainty in the Australia XI.
In red-ball cricket, Green’s notable performances include a five-wicket haul in the Boxing Day Test and a maiden century came in his 20th Test as Australia chased an unlikely victory against India on a flat track in Ahmedabad earlier this year.
Green, who played the last two of the four Tests in the series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, including Australia’s victory in Indore, picked out Virat Kohli as the biggest threat for his team.
“I think he (Kohli) always tries to be the man to stand up in big moments,” Green said. “A World Test Championship is obviously amassive moment, so I look forward to that.”
Switch on & off
Though his last two months were spent in the slam-bang T20 format, Green feels there won’t be any problem for him to switch gears as he dives into Test cricket.
“There is nothing like Test cricket when you’re kind of out in the middle,” he said. “Obviously, your nerves are running really high. I think the best players are the best ones that are able to handle that.”
His team too thinks that Green would be in Test mode when the final begins on Wednesday.
“With Cameron, I think he has been playing so much cricket, he will be fine. It’s great to have him back.
“He offers so much to the team and had a great series in India for us and then is coming off the back of a successful IPL.
“It’s great he’s got some confidence … he’s a huge part of the side,” said Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori.