New Delhi: Skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday spoke about India's heart-wrenching 2023 ICC ODI World Cup final loss against Australia for the first time. The 'Men in Blue' lost the summit clash in front of the home crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Rohit Sharma had never thought that he would ever overcome the disappointment, but it was the love and understanding of fans regarding how a player must be feeling after a heartbreaking defeat that "motivated" him to take another shot at another ultimate tournament and earn the glory.
However, the star opener didn't clarify which ultimate glory. But we can now expect that his eyes are on next year’s T20 World Cup trophy in the West Indies and USA.
The 36-year-old had a dream of winning the ODI World Cup for the country as he believes that it is the biggest achievement for any player. Notably, on the night of the final, Rohit left the ground and ran towards the dressing room with tears in his eyes. Later, he went to England for a much-needed break to relieve himself from the pain.
"I had no idea how to come back from this for the first few days. It was my family and friends that kept me going. They kept things light. It wasn't easy to digest but life moves on and it wasn't easy to move on," said Rohit, on his Instagram fan page, airing his sentiments for the first time since November 19, when the team lost to eventual World Champions Australia.
The Mumbaikar said that the appreciation and understanding from the fans he received for the team's exceptional outings played a major part in his healing process.
"For me to see people coming up to me, telling me that they were proud of the team, 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," the right-handed batter added.
The Indian opener has given many hints about his return to the shortest format of cricket and is ready for one more final date where his side can create history.
"People, when they understand what the player must be going through and when they know this kind of things and not to bring out that frustration, that anger, it means a lot for us, for me 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," Rohit said.
"So it gives you motivation to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize," he hinted at the T20 World Cup. Rohit had left for the United Kingdom for two weeks right after the marquee tournament.
"After the final, it was very hard to get back and start moving on, which is why I decided that I needed 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, and 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 said.
The support that the team received during the campaign was incredible. "Everywhere we went during this entire campaign, there was so much support from everyone who came to the stadium first 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 months. But again, if I think more and more about that I feel quite disappointed that we were not able to go all the way," he stressed.
The 50-over World Cup is the ultimate prize and it does get frustrating when one thinks about it.
"I have 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, you don't get what you want, what you have been looking for all this while, what you were dreaming of. You get disappointed. You get frustrated as well at times," Rohit concluded.
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