He was India’s most impactful performer in the 2023 World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup. Going into the Champions Trophy, he was India’s biggest concern. Captain of India, the question was repeatedly asked: what did Rohit Sharma need to do to get back among the runs?
What many had forgotten was that he is one of the greatest white-ball players ever. What makes him different is his selflessness. The Rohit of the 2023 World Cup on home soil was all about taking risks. Playing for the team without really caring about getting out. It paid off for him and for India. That’s the avatar the team needed in Dubai, and that’s what we all got.
The Rohit in the final, however, was different. He started aggressively, but the moment Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were out, he realised he needed to stay in and consolidate. When he was finally out for 76, India had reached halfway, with more than 25 overs in hand. The game had been set up, and it was a captain’s innings which eventually turned into a match-winning one.
The truth is Rohit believed he could do it. He did not just say it to the media or his teammates. Rather, deep down, he knew he could still do the job for India. Elite high performance sport is hugely mental, and Rohit is a classic case. Let’s put things in context. Just eight months ago, he played one of the greatest white-ball knocks ever. His 40-ball 90 against Australia in the T20 World Cup is perhaps his greatest white-ball innings. To hit Mitchell Starc the way he did was exceptional.
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He followed that up with yet another special effort against England in the semi-final. For someone who had played such knocks just eight months earlier, it was impossible to believe that his game had gone away from him in such a short time. Rohit knew it, and so did the management. All the players backed their captain, and he delivered on the biggest stage of all.
Rohit was poor in Australia in the 2022 T20 World Cup. With the captain playing conventional, outdated cricket, the team looked pedestrian. England destroyed India in the semi-final and Rohit learnt his lesson. Come World Cup 2023, he was a changed man. Selfless and aggressive, he was like a breath of fresh air at the start of the Indian innings. He believed he was wrong in Australia, and needed to change. He believed he could do it in 2023 and 2024, and delivered. Ahead of the Champions Trophy, he must have felt there was one more push left in him. Truth be told, he was right.
One has to say the odds were stacked against him. Two more failures, and the questions would have gotten louder. All that, however, is now history. Rohit found his mojo in the final, and so did India. We all wanted him to recalibrate and start to enjoy his batting again. He did. Rohit is evidence that in sport, it is never say never. That’s the beauty of it, and no one knows it better than him, having dealt with adversity at several stages in his career. Rohit is once again back where he belongs – at the very top of Indian and world cricket.
Also Read: Not retiring, jo chal raha hai chalega: Rohit
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