Need To Move On, But It Was Tough: Rohit Sharma

NEW DELHI, (IANS) – Speaking openly for the first time since India lost the ODI World Cup final, captain Rohit Sharma admitted that though one must move on in life, it was tough for him to overcome the defeat in the final at Ahmedabad.

In the final on November 19, Rohit continued to give India fast starts in the first ten overs, slamming a 31-ball 47 as the hosts reached 80 at the end of the first powerplay.

But after that, India never got the desired groove in the middle overs and eventually made 240. It meant that India’s date with destiny and ending their ten-year drought of a global trophy ended in heartbreak.

“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.”

“I had no idea how to come back after the final, my family & friends kept me going – it was hard to digest but life needs to move on but honestly it was tough to move on from that day, it was the ultimate prize,” said Rohit.

After the tournament was over, Rohit headed to the United Kingdom with his family to try and get over the sadness of losing the World Cup final, while appreciating the fans for coming out to support the team in huge numbers. “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 realized 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.”

“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 month. But again, if I think more and more about that I feel quite disappointed that we were not able to go all the way.”

Rohit revealed fans told him that they were proud of the Indian team’s performance in the World Cup, making it easy for him to heal, and was touched by the empathy shown by them. “For me to see, you know, 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.”

“People, when they understand what the player must be going through and when they know these kinds 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. So, it motivates you to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize.”