“I really want to win the World Cup and the WTC final in 2025” : Rohit Sharma shuns away retirement talks ahead of T20I World Cup
Rohit Sharma has dismissed rumors about his retirement in a recent interview. The Indian batter believes that he is still capable of playing at the top level, and is not thinking about retirement in the near future. In fact, the Indian skipper hopes to play the 50-over World Cup in South Africa in 2027, and the WTC Final at Lord’s in 2025.
Rohit Sharma led India to a remarkable ICC World Cup campaign on home soil last year. However, after securing 10 consecutive victories, Team India succumbed at the final hurdle, losing to Australia in the finals. In an interview on ‘Breakfast with Champions,’ Rohit Sharma clarified his stance on retirement, and has set his sights on the upcoming World Cup events.
“I haven’t really thought about retirement. But, I don’t know where life takes you. I am still playing well at this point in time – so I am thinking I am going to continue for a few more years and then, I don’t know. I really want to win the World Cup and there is a WTC final in 2025, hopefully India makes it,” said Rohit on the show.
“Australia were slightly better than us” : Rohit Sharma on World Cup final loss
Rohit Sharma admitted that Australia were slightly the better side in the finals, as they held their nerve to chase down a tricky target of 240 runs. The Indian captain believes that his side ticked all boxes on their way to the finals. He narrowed down the defeat to one bad day, which happens to the best of the teams in sports.
“50-over World Cup for me is the actual World Cup. We’ve grown up watching that World Cup. More importantly, it was happening in India in front of our home crowd. We played so well up until that final. When we won the semi-finals, I thought, now we’re just a step away. We’re doing all the things right,” said Rohit.
“What’s the one thing that can make us lose the World Cup? Not a single thing came to my mind. Because I thought we ticked all the boxes, we were playing good cricket. Confidence was there.” We were all supposed to have one bad day and that I guess that was our bad day. Don’t think we played bad cricket in that final, certain things didn’t go our way. But Australia were slightly better than us,” he added.
Rohit Sharma is all set to lead Team India once again at the T20I World Cup in June. The right-handed batter is currently representing Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The Hitman has delivered a couple of useful cameos for his side, as the five-time champions have recouped from a poor start to the season. Unlike the previous 11 seasons, Rohit Sharma is no longer the captain of the Mumbai Indians, as he has been replaced by all-rounder Hardik Pandya at the helm.
