This is a very important phase in my career, says Sharma

Port of Spain: Rohit Sharma made a successful comeback into the Indian cricket one-day team by hitting a match-winning half century against the West Indies here Monday and now wants to carry on with his good form in what he calls a "very important phase of my career".

Sharma: Top-scored in India win

Sharma showed patience in his 68-run knock that steered India to a four-wicket win in the first One-day International. The gifted batsman said he has moved on from the disappointment of not being part of the World Cup winning squad and is focussed on cementing his place in the side

"This is a very important phase of my career. I have to keep scoring now. I am glad I could do the job today when the chips were down," said Sharma at the post-match press conference.

"I had a good IPL and whenever you are in good form, you have to carry on. Today was a perfect day. It wasn't an easy track; it was very slow and turning a bit. You need a lot of time to keep the innings going. Till 35 I didn't score a single boundary or a four."

"Yes I was very disappointed in not being part of the World Cup but I have to move on," Rohit said after top-scoring for India in the win against West Indies.

Sharma, hailed as one of the most talented batsmen on the international circuit by current and former players, made his ODI debut in June 2007 but has not been able to establish himself in the team. Australian spin legend Shane Warne recently said Sharma has the talent to become one of the greats of Indian cricket.

When asked about his career graph, the 24-year-old said: "Somehow I have not done really so well in the middle order in the past but it's part and parcel of being a cricketer. You have seen many good players who have struggled initially and later on matured as a player. I am maturing as a player; I understand the game very well these days. I now know what to do and what not to do as a batsman."

Sharma rubbished that he had an "attitude problem" early on in his career.

"There was nothing wrong about the attitude. People have their opinions and I am not bothered about it. People will talk if you play international cricket. The more people talk, more confident I get. My job is not to lose focus, remain calm and you can learn from so many players. There have been many people who have come up from being down. I am young still and have a long way to go. I don't need to lose heart and focus. I just need to keep playing and keep doing the right things," he said.

Sharma has scored 1,316 runs at an average of 28.60 in 62 ODI appearances. — IANS