Rohit Sharma opens up about darkest moment: Considered retirement after 2023 World Cup final heartbreak

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : Indian cricket legend and former captain Rohit Sharma has made a heart-touching revelation about the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Rohit said that he even considered retiring from cricket after India's defeat to Australia in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad. "At that time, I felt like the game had taken everything from me," he said.

India had performed brilliantly under Rohit's captaincy in that World Cup played on home soil – the team reached the final by winning nine consecutive matches, but in the title match, a century by Australian opener Travis Head changed the course of the match.

Speaking at a Masters Union event, Rohit said, "After the final , I was completely devastated. I felt like I didn't want to play this game anymore. But I slowly reminded myself that this is what I love the most. I can't give it up so easily." He said it took time to recover, but gradually his energy returned and he was able to be active on the field again.

Rohit admitted that the defeat was personally very difficult for him. "I put everything into this World Cup. Not just a few months before the tournament, but ever since I took over as captain in 2022," he said, adding that the goal was clear: to win the World Cup, whether it was T20 or the 2023 ODI.

Retirement and the road ahead

Rohit has retired from T20 and Test cricket and relinquished the ODI captaincy earlier this year. He currently plays in the 50-over format and aims to remain with the team until the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Learning from defeat, returning to victory

It wasn't easy to recover from the pain of Ahmedabad, but that same spirit showed the way forward. Less than a year after the final defeat, India won the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies under Rohit's captaincy. "When you put everything into something and don't get the desired result, it's natural to feel devastated," Rohit says. "But life doesn't end there; that was the biggest lesson."