Team India skipper Rohit Sharma appeared for his first interview since their heartbreaking loss in the 2023 World Cup final to Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last month. The right-hander admitted struggling to cope up with the loss the first few days after the fixture in a video uploaded by Mumbai Indians' official Twitter handle.
Having won 10 consecutive matches, the Men in Blue were firm favourites to lift the crown when they met Australia in the final in front of a packed crowd. India had also beaten the Men in Yellow convincingly in the group-stage fixture. However, the five-time champions brought their A game across facets to seal their 6th title.
Speaking in a video uploaded by Mumbai Indians' official Twitter handle, the veteran credited his friends and family for keeping him going after the loss.
"I had no idea how to come back from this. The first few days, I didn't know what to do. You know my family, my friends, kept me going, kept things pretty light around me which was quite helpful. It wasn't easy to digest, but life moves on. You have to move on in life. But honestly it was tough, it was not easy to move on."
Rohit was notably the 2nd highest run-getter of the World Cup, aggregating over 550 runs with a brisk 47 in the final. The bulk of the scoring was done by Virat Kohli, who hammered 765 runs, shattering multiple records with his tally. Kohli was also the only half-centurion for India in the final as the hosts managed only 240 on the board.
In response, Travis Head's bat produced a big hundred to take Australia over the line. It was also Australia's 2nd World Cup final win over India.
"I've grown up watching 50-over World Cup" - Rohit Sharma
The opening batter revealed that it was hugely disappointing not to get to the finish line, having dreamt of it and worked religiously towards gaining the trophy.
"I've grown up watching 50-over World Cup. To me, that was the ultimate prize. So, we have worked all these years for the World Cup and it is disappointing if you don't get through it and you don't get what you want and what you've been looking for all this while. You get frustrated as well at times."
Rohit, who was teary-eyed after the final, added that the team made him immensely proud for playing well up until the decider.
"I thought we did everything we could from our side. If someone asks me what went wrong? We won 10 games and we made mistakes in those 10 games. But mistakes happens in every game you play. You can have a near perfect game, but you cannot have a perfect game. If I look on the other side of it, I'm really proud of the team as well because how we played was simply outstanding. You don't get to perform like that every World Cup."
Rohit conceded that it was important for him to take a vacation following the final to get his mind out of it
"I'm pretty sure how we played up until that final, it would have given people a lot of joy, lot of pride watching the team play. 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."
He acknowledged the disappointment of the fans and in their part and thanked them for not dishing out their anger on the players.
"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."
With the T20 World Cup coming next year, Rohit feels fans' support have motivated them to go harder after another 'ultimate prize'.
"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. So it gives you motivation to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize."
The aggressive opening batter is likely to lead India in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
