Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma has spoken for the first time about the team's recent loss in the ODI World Cup final against Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. The 36-year-old also did not appear in media in the last 24 days but has finally come out with an emotional video message. Rohit expressed the difficulty he faced in moving on from the defeat and thanked cricket fans and the stadium for their unwavering support throughout the tournament.
“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,” Rohit said in a video on Instagram.
“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," he said.
The team stepping out to represent the country carried a piece of heart of every Indian, shouldering not only their own expectations but also the hopes of fans worldwide. Rohit reveals that fans continued to shower them with all love possible, and make their appreciation known to him in whatever brief moments he came across them. “For me to see, you know, people coming up to me, telling me that they were proud of the team, you know 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,” Rohit said.
“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,” he added.
“I’ve 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, don’t get what you want, what you’ve been looking for all this while, what you were dreaming of. You get disappointed. You get frustrated as well at times,” Rohit said during the chat.
