Rohit admits it took time to come out of World Cup final loss, drops hints on playing 2024 T20 WC

Overcoming heartbreak is never easy for anyone, and India captain Rohit Sharma is no different. 

Speaking to the media ahead of the Boxing Day Test (vs South Africa) and for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final loss to Australia, Rohit admitted taking time to gain strength to overcome the disappointment of failing to win the home World Cup despite coming so close.

Post the 2023 World Cup final, Rohit lost his Mumbai Indians captaincy (in IPL) to Hardik Pandya, while his stance on featuring in yet another T20 World Cup (next year in the West Indies and the USA) remains unclear. 

Although several reports claimed that BCCI office-bearers and the selection committee had decided his fate heading into the marquee event, Rohit sounded confident about playing in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

"Desperation is to play cricket," Rohit told the media ahead of India’s first Test against the Proteas. 

"Everybody has that desperation. Everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to do well. Wherever you get a chance, you want to do well. I know what you are trying to say, but you will get the answer in good time,” the India captain added.

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While Rohit remained mum on his captaincy future, mainly in the shortest format, he said, as a batter, he is ready to embrace any challenge that comes his way in the next six months. 

"As a batter, I'm batting as well as I could. So yeah, whatever is in front of me, I would look forward to play whatever is in front of me,” Rohit added. 

Took strength to overcome World Cup loss

With India dominating the home World Cup like none other, having won ten straight matches in the lead-up to the final (against Australia), they looked like walking away with the coveted trophy on D-Day. 

That, however, did not happen, as Travis Head’s second CWC hundred propelled them to their record sixth World Cup trophy (by six wickets). 

Rohit admitted that overcoming that loss took time and strength, thanking the his fans for the much-required support that helped him in his cause.

"Obviously, [moving on] from a loss like that, it is hard. But there's so much happening in life. There's so much cricket happening. You've got to find that strength to move on from that. 

“It took time for me as well to come out of that. But, you know, you gotta look forward. And honestly, we got a lot of encouragement from the outside world after that finals as well. And that motivated me personally to make sure I get up and start doing my job again,” Rohit Sharma added.

Meanwhile, Rohit will lead India in the two-match Test series, starting with the Boxing Day Test in Centurion.