Rohit Sharma Stays On: “I’m Not Going Anywhere,” Says Proud Captain After Champions Trophy Win
After India won the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand, captain Rohit Sharma sat down for a press conference. He had the trophy beside him and was very proud of his team. At the end of the session, he made one thing very clear: “One more thing… I’m not going to retire from the format, just to make sure that no rumours are spread moving forward. Thank you so much.”
This statement put an end to rumors about his future in ODI cricket. India had just won back-to-back ICC titles, and Rohit was happy.
Before this tournament, there had been talk about Rohit’s future. India had lost Test series at home and in Australia. In Australia, Rohit even sat out the last Test match. But throughout the Champions Trophy, he showed that he is still a strong player and leader. In the final, he played a crucial innings of 76 runs, which helped India chase down the target.
During the press conference, Rohit praised his team. He said that everyone had played their part. “If you want to win a tournament championship, it is very important for everyone to contribute. There are some matches where individuals win, but to win a tournament, everyone needs to perform together. In this tournament, we have seen that from the first match till now, all the boys have contributed. If you see from number 1 to 11, the boys who have got the chance to bat or bowl, they have contributed in their own way.”
One important decision India made before the tournament was to move KL Rahul from number 5 to number 6 in the batting order. Rohit explained why they did this. “When we discussed about KL’s batting position, we discussed quite deeply how calm he is when he is batting. The pressure doesn’t get to him. We wanted that calmness in the middle somewhere. Also, we wanted to use a left-hander in the middle. That actually worked out both ways for us. KL has been doing a lot of challenging work for the team for so many years now. I am very happy with how he managed to pull this tournament and bat it in the pressure situation, both in the semifinals and this game as well. The contribution may not be 70-80, but those 30-40s are very important,” Rohit said.
In the final, KL Rahul once again played a key role, especially when India was under pressure. Rohit praised Rahul’s ability to stay calm and handle pressure. “When you are chasing, running the ball at the back end, it can get tough, it can get difficult. But with KL being there, we know that he has got that mind where he keeps himself calm and keeps the dressing room also very calm. So, I am very happy with how he managed in this tournament and really happy for the contributions that he made for the team,” Rohit added.
Since the 2022 T20 World Cup, India has changed its approach in white-ball cricket. Rohit has led this change with his aggressive batting. This approach has helped India reach the finals of the last three ICC tournaments. “Someone was telling me in these ICC tournaments, we have lost only one game in the last three ICC tournaments that we have played. So, it is a great milestone to have, honestly speaking. And that speaks about the kind of team this is. So, I know we did not win the World Cup. We lost that final. But then we went to World 20 and not lost a single game and went on to win the trophy and here as well. So, it shows a lot of quality in the team, a lot of depth, a lot of understanding within the group, a lot of enjoyment, a lot of excitement. And that is how we want to play our cricket. And that is what we had spoken before the tournament began. We wanted to enjoy,” he added.
Finally, Rohit made a simple but powerful statement about his team: “India is a bloody good team.” This showed how proud he was of his team’s performance.
Rohit Sharma’s press conference was full of praise for his team. He also made it clear that he is not retiring from ODI cricket. He is happy with how his team has performed and is looking forward to the future.
