The One Day International (ODI) captain Rohit Sharma looks forward to the new challenge in the upcoming edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, as he aims to move on from their T20 World Cup 2024 victory in the West Indies and the United States of America, in the last month.
He said that it was a tremendous feeling to experience that great carnival in Delhi and Mumbai, but vowed to start focusing on the 50-over cricket.
“I had a good time off from cricket. It was a great feeling to come back home after winning the World Cup, what we experienced in Delhi and Mumbai. But yeah, now we have to move on, cricket moves on.” The ODI captain of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma, expressed at the press conference on the eve of the opening ODI against Sri Lanka.
Rohit Sharma vows to look ahead to new challenges for India
Rohit Sharma touched on the importance of looking ahead, despite earning success and doing well in the past for a particular period, just as they did during the 2023 ODI World Cup defeat.
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“Whatever we have done in the past, that was good for that particular period, but time keeps moving forward, and we also need to keep moving forward.” The Nagpur-born remarked to the media.
“That’s what happened after the 2023 World Cup. There was a lot of disappointment, but we had to move on and look forward to this World Cup.” The former T20I player of the Blue Brigade added. “Now that the T20 World Cup is over, we have to think about what lies ahead of us as a team. Yeah, there is plenty to look forward to, a big tournament coming up.”
Since the appointment of the new head coach, it’s the first time Rohit Sharma will be working with him in the format, as Gautam Gambhir has already tasted early success with the new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav having whitewashed Sri Lanka in the three-match series in the shortest format.
The 37-year-old shed light on his bond with the former left-handed opening batter of the national side, with whom he played the 2007 T20 World Cup, besides praising the clear mind of the head coach.
“Basically, our chats have centered around what the team needs, what are our shortcomings, where have we done well, etc. It was a discussion on how to take the team forward. But we don’t want to plan too far ahead.” Rohit Sharma observed during the presser.
“We are here for three games, and the idea is to take something back from these three games, and learn how we want to play and what we want to achieve in ODI cricket.” He stated.
The veteran emphasized that the team should be permitted to experience a few losses to reach a few specific objectives, as he feels that defeats are unavoidable aspects of the game.
“At the end of the day, the standard of Indian cricket is more important, and while doing that if you lose a game then it’s absolutely fine. You are still trying to do something different, and you are not compromising on the standard.” Rohit Sharma elaborated. “We are a sports team, a cricket team, and we should also be allowed to lose while trying to do things differently.”
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He ended up by saying that their main aim remains to earn the series victory against Sri Lanka in the ODIs, as it doesn’t rate it as a ‘practice ground’ but an ‘international game’.
“We want to achieve something out of every series or game we play, but not at the cost of not showing intent or purpose. It (The Sri Lanka series) isn’t a practice ground. It’s an international game.” Rohit Sharma concluded.