(Source X)
For Rohit Sharma, India’s World Cup triumph still feels surreal and ongoing. He became the first Indian captain since 2013 to break the trophy drought for India.
It marked India’s first ICC title since 2013 and their first T20 World Cup victory in 17 years, following their inaugural win in 2007. Despite consistently reaching the knockout stages of various ICC events, India had faltered in finals.
Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, India lost the 2014 T20 World Cup final. Virat Kohli led the team to defeat in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma’s tenure saw losses in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final against England, as well as in the WTC and ODI World Cup finals against Australia.
Rohit Sharma had been resolute about securing the T20 World Cup victory, and when it finally happened, words fell short to express his emotions. Following the win, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20I cricket.
After being stranded for four days due to Hurricane Beryl post the T20 World Cup in Barbados, the Indian World Cup team finally arrived in New Delhi on Thursday morning following a nearly 16-hour non-stop flight. They met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before heading to Mumbai for a celebratory roadshow.
Upon arriving in Mumbai, the Indian players faced delays reaching Marine Drive due to the large crowd already assembled to welcome them. They eventually arrived at Marine Drive around 7 PM and are currently en route to Wankhede Stadium, where the BCCI will honor and felicitate the team.
Watch the Video-
Meanwhile, footage of Rohit Sharma lovingly embracing the T20 World Cup trophy has become a sensation on social media. In a widely circulated video clip, Rohit is seen carefully wiping and admiring the trophy. Every Indian player, including Rohit Sharma, posed for photos with the World Cup trophy, sharing their emotions after securing the title.
During the post-match press conference following the final victory, Rohit Sharma expressed his deep desire to claim the title after experiencing defeat in two ICC finals within the span of 12 months prior to the T20 World Cup final.
“I wanted this badly. It’s very hard to put it in words because that moment… I don’t want to say what I was thinking and what was going [on] in my mind, but it was a very emotional moment personally for me. I wish I could capture that moment myself but not really, you can’t do that but I will always remember that. Yeah, those are the moments you wait for and then you don’t plan these things, it just happens because you’re so desperate for certain things in life and I was very desperate for this in my life. So happy that we eventually crossed the line this time” Rohit said.
The T20 World Cup victory also concluded Rahul Dravid’s stint as India’s head coach. During his tenure, India experienced losses in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, the WTC 2023 final, and the ODI World Cup 2023 final, before achieving success with the T20 World Cup title.
