Former batter Amol Muzumdar claimed that Rohit Sharma handled the disappointment of missing the 2011 World Cup with grace and turned his career around. So far in the present ODI World Cup, the 36-year-old has been outstanding in both batting and leadership, guiding the side to three wins out of three on home soil.
Rohit Sharma is one of the most gifted, talented, and technically sound batsman India have produced in the last decade but the Indian skipper was unfortunate to miss out on the Indian bus for the 2011 ODI World Cup on home soil, which he himself has regretted at numerous occasions but has got the opportunity to lead the team to a championship title in home soil in 2023.
Speaking on Star Sports, Amol Muzumdar believes that Rohit Sharma’s exclusion from the World Cup roster in 2011 changed things for the Indian captain, who did not look back from there on and went on to play an important role for the Indian team in all three formats of the game.
“According to me, when he wasn’t selected in that 2011 World Cup where the team happened to go and win the tournament, that really upset him. After that, he’s just been excellent. When he got the captaincy (in the IPL) later, it added responsibility on his shoulders, and he really matured”.
“And he’s never looked back after that. That was one setback which he took positively and turned it around for himself,” Amol Muzumdar said.
Rohit Sharma was widely believed to be going to the 2011 World Cup in India, however, the team administration and selectors made a different choice by dropping him for the 15-men squad.
Moreover, the Indian skipper’s career took resurgence when he was promoted as an opener in the 2013 Champions Trophy from where he went on to establish himself as one of the greats of the game.
Following Virat Kohli’s departure as India captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma provided a breath of fresh air to Indian cricket captaining them in all three formats of the game. The Indian skipper now has a chance to become the third Indian skipper to win the ODI World Cup after the legendary Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni for India.
The Indian skipper’s form will be crucial for the Indian team’s success in the ODI World Cup 2023, as the team will require him to be at his best opening the batting for the team going forward in the tournament.
