Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma has revealed that he considered retirement after India’s heartbreaking loss in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Speaking at an event, Rohit admitted the defeat left him emotionally shattered under the weight of captaincy pressure.
Rohit Sharma Opens Up on Retirement Thoughts After 2023 World Cup Final Defeat
New Delhi: Indian cricket team's star batsman and one of its most successful captains, Rohit Sharma, has made a shocking revelation about his career. He publicly admitted for the first to time that after the defeat against Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, he seriously considered retiring from cricket. According to Rohit, that loss completely shattered him mentally.
Sharing his feelings during an event at Masters Union in Gurugram, Rohit Sharma said, “After the World Cup final, I felt like cricket had taken everything away from me. I was completely empty inside and didn't want to play anymore.” He said that at that time, he had no energy left to return to the field.
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Under Rohit's captaincy, India had a brilliant run in the 2023 World Cup, winning nine consecutive matches to reach the final. The team remained undefeated throughout the tournament, but Travis Head's century in the final in Ahmedabad shattered India's dream of winning the World Cup. This defeat proved extremely painful for millions of Indian fans, as well as for captain Rohit Sharma.
Rohit admitted that the defeat was even heavier for him because he was the captain. He said, “I had dedicated myself to this World Cup not just for the final, but ever since I became captain in 2022. When the goal wasn't achieved, the disappointment was immense. We couldn't understand how it had happened.” According to Rohit, this was the most difficult period of his career.
It took Rohit Sharma a long time to recover from this defeat. He said that he repeatedly reminded himself that cricket is his greatest love and that he couldn't give it up because of one loss. Gradually, he started practicing and mentally prepared himself again. Rohit said that this time taught him how to deal with failure.
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Rohit Sharma said that this experience has made him stronger. He learned how to reset himself after setbacks and move forward. Although he has now retired from T20 Internationals and Test cricket, and no longer holds the ODI captaincy, he is still playing ODI cricket.
Almost a year after the disappointment of 2023, Rohit Sharma achieved a major milestone by leading India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup. This win helped heal old wounds. Rohit admitted that it's easy to look back now, but the situation at the time was extremely difficult. He said that overcoming that period was one of the biggest challenges of his life.
Rohit Sharma's goal now is to end his career on a high note by playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup. He believes that struggles and failures make a person stronger, and he learned from those experiences to rebuild himself.
