VIDEO: Rohit Sharma shares heartfelt message on ODI WC loss, acknowledges fan support - Watch

On Wednesday (Dec 13), Rohit Sharma broke his silence on Team India's ODI World Cup final loss, where they went down to Australia by six wickets in Ahmedabad on Nov 19. Being on a 10-match winning streak, hosts India entered the 10-team competition's finale as the red-hot favourites but lost to Pat Cummins-led Aussies.

Being asked to bat first at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, Rohit & Co. only managed 240 for 9 before Travis Head's 137 and Marnus Labuschagne's 58 not-out guided Australia to their sixth ODI WC triumph overall. 

After the heartbreaking loss, the majority of the Indian cricketers have stayed away from international cricket to revamp and return to the field. Before Rohit's return to the 22-yard cricket strip, during the forthcoming two Tests versus South Africa in the African nation, the Indian captain shared an emotional message acknowledging the fan support.

He further shared the challenges and emotions experienced during the entire tournament and how everyone's pure love has motivated him to keep going ahead.

'I feel for all of them. They all, along with us, were dreaming of lifting that World Cup'

Rohit said in a video shared on Instagram, "After the final, it was very hard to get back and start moving on, which is why I decided that I need to get my mind out of this. But then, wherever I was, I realised that people were coming up to me and they were appreciating everyone’s effort, and 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."

He further opined, “Everywhere we went during this entire campaign, there was so much support from everyone who came to the stadium firstly 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 period. But again, if I think more and more about that I feel quite disappointed that we were not able to go all the way.”

“For me to see, you know, people coming up to me, telling me that they were proud of the team, you know 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,” Rohit mentioned.

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'Seeing everyone's pure love motivates you to look for another ultimate prize'

Hitman then stated, “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, 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 gives you motivation to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize.”

“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,” Rohit added during the chat.

At present, Rohit is gearing up for India's upcoming two Tests versus South Africa, starting on Dec 26. He is expected to lead India in the 2024 T20 World Cup, in West Indies and USA, which will kick off in early June. However, nothing is official regarding his T20I comeback. He last played in the format during India's semi-final defeat in the 2022 T20 World Cup, to eventual winners England.