In a recent interview, Rohit Sharma shared his feelings regarding the defeat in the ICC 2023 World Cup. Rohit wanted to retire after the 2023 World Cup, as he said, “It was a very tough time for me personally because I had put everything into that World Cup.” It was very much evident on his face what exactly it meant to him as the team almost had the trophy in their hands.
There is no doubt that Rohit Sharma is one of the most legendary batters in world cricket and will also surely go down as one of the greatest captains that the Indian team has had in white-ball cricket. The venue was the Master’s Union Convocation 2025, and the date was 21st December. Gurugram was the venue where Rohit put his heart out about his retirement plan post the heartbreaking loss in the 2023 World Cup final, which India lost to Australia in Ahmedabad on 19th November 2023.
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Rohit wanted to retire after the 2023 World Cup “It was a very tough time for me personally because I had put everything into that World Cup.”
The 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup was surely one of the best runs that India ever had in a World Cup edition. Before entering the final, India played ten matches. Nine of them were league stage matches, and one of them was the Semi-final. Eventually, India won them all. To see what happened in the final surely broke many hearts, and imagine the pain the captain, who led this team, had at that moment as he gave everything, and he did not deserve this.
Everyone was very disappointed and we could not believe what happened. Personally, it was a very tough time because I had put everything into the World Cup since I took over as the captain… I was completely distraught, and there was no energy left in my body. It took me a couple of months to get back to being myself… It was a tough pill to swallow… I had to put all my focus on something that was coming up – the 2024 World Cup.
At one point, I felt like I didn’t want to play this sport anymore because it had taken everything out of me… It took some time, and I kept reminding myself that this is something I truly love, that it was right in front of me, and I couldn’t let it go so easily… It took a lot of energy and calculation to get back on the field and start moving again,
Rohit Sharma spoke about how everyone was disappointed during the time and had no idea what exactly happened in the final. He also mentioned it was a very tough time for him as a player and that he had almost planned to retire after the World Cup. Rohit also spoke about having no more energy. Surely, sports can be cruel at times, and that is what Rohit felt at that moment, and had a thought about maybe not playing, but this is not what a player is also about, and Rohit showed in the next tournaments.
The next event that India played under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma was the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, and India won that competition by being unbeaten. Rohit announced his retirement after winning the T20 World Cup. Just more than nine moments later, India also won the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy under Rohit’s captaincy. From the ICC 2023 World Cup to the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy, India just lost one match in the ICC events, and it was the final of the ICC 2023 World Cup.