For the first time since the ill-fated 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final defeat against Australia, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma reflected on the loss, breaking his 20-day silence.
In a video uploaded on social media by his team, the batter revealed how difficult it was for him to deal with that defeat in Ahmedabad on 19 November, after what was an otherwise exemplary performance from the Indian team which saw them winning ten consecutive matches.
After the final, it was very hard to get back and start moving on, which is why I decided that I need to get my mind out of this. But then, wherever I was, I realised that people were coming up to me and they were appreciating everyone’s effort, how well we played. I feel for all of them. They all, along with us, were dreaming of lifting that World Cup, along with us.Rohit Sharma
Following that loss, Rohit opted to not play in the T20I series against Australia and spent time with his family in the United Kingdom instead. Despite being away from cricket, the captain revealed how fans of Indian cricket came up to him, not to vent their anger, but only to congratulate him on what the team achieved at the World Cup.
Everywhere we went during this entire campaign, there was so much support from everyone who came to the stadium firstly, and people who were watching it from home as well. I want to appreciate what the people have done for us, in that one and half month period. But again, if I think more and more about that I feel quite disappointed that we were not able to go all the way.Rohit Sharma
"For me to see, you know, people coming up to me, telling me that they were proud of the team, you know made me feel good. Along with them, I was healing as well. I felt, okay these are the kind of things you want to hear," he further added.
Fans’ Adoration Is Driving Rohit Towards ‘Another Ultimate Prize’
Despite missing out on cricket’s ultimate crown, and subsequently elongating the nation’s decade-long wait for an ICC trophy, the fans have been supportive of the team, owing to their dominance in every other match barring the final.
Reflecting on the adoration of fans, Rohit stated “People, when they understand what the player must be going through and when they know these kind of things and not to bring out that frustration, that anger, it means a lot for us, for me definitely it meant a lot because there was no anger, it was just pure love from people that I met and it was wonderful to see that.”
“I’ve always grown up watching the 50-over World Cup. To me that was the ultimate prize, the 50-over World Cup. We’ve worked all these years, for that World Cup. And it is disappointing, right? If you don’t get through it, don’t get what you want, what you’ve been looking for all this while, what you were dreaming of. You get disappointed. You get frustrated as well at times. But the love from people gives you motivation to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize,” he concluded.
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