Rohit Sharma Sets Sights on 2027 World Cup After Heartbreaking 2023 Loss

Captain Wants to Lead India to Glory, Reflects on Test Triumph and Favorite Cricket Memories

Apr 13, 2024 - 11:22
Rohit Sharma Sets Sights on 2027 World Cup After Heartbreaking 2023 Loss
Rohit Sharma during IPL 2024

Rohit Sharma, 36, is not considering retirement at this time. Instead, he wants to try his luck at the 2027 ODI World Cup after losing out on the prize the previous year.

"I haven't given retiring any thought. I'm not sure where life will lead you, though. I'm playing well right now, and I plan to keep playing for a few more years. In an appearance on the YouTube chat show Breakfast With Champions, which British pop star Ed Sheeran also attended, he declared, "I really want to win that World Cup."


The real World Cup is the 50-over competition. We have watched the 50-over World Cup since we were young. In 2025, Lord's will host the World Test Championship final. With any luck, we'll make it there," continued Rohit, who will captain the team in June in the T20 World Cup.

Rohit seems to be carrying the scars from India's devastating loss to Australia in the 2023 World Cup final with him forever.

"That was taking place in Indiana... We had a good game up until that point. I believed that after winning the semifinal, we were only one win away from triumph. I honestly couldn't think of anything that may cause us to lose the championship," he remarked.

"I suppose that was our bad day; I think we were all meant to have one bad day." We were confident, playing well, and we had checked all the boxes. However, the Australians had a fantastic day and that was just one awful day. We didn't play awful cricket in that final, he said.

Mettle test

The skipper does not, however, think that a home victory—even against a great team—is inferior to an away victory, and he views India's recent 4-1 success in the home Test series against England as a noteworthy accomplishment.

"Even if you have a strategy before you reach the field, you must adjust it if you observe that things are moving differently. We faced a different team and saw a different style of cricket when we played England lately. Every batter came up to take a swing at us. We so had to adopt a new perspective.

"Being victorious away from home is hard. They complicate things while you're not around. The situation is the same for other nations as well because visiting India is difficult. He clarified, "You want to take advantage of that (the home conditions).

The outstanding right-hander chose his maiden hundred to be his most treasured Test cricket moment. In Calcutta, Rohit scored a century on 301 balls while batting at No. 6 against the West Indies.

In India, getting a hundred is the ultimate goal, after which the crowd goes wild. In a Test match in Calcutta, I scored my first century. There were about 70,000 spectators in the stadium for Sachin Tendulkar's 199th Test match. "It was probably the best moment," he remarked.

"IPL is like the EPL."

One of the rare players who has participated in the IPL since its start in 2008 is Rohit.

Rohit of the Mumbai Indians noted how the competition has evolved over time, saying, "IPL has grown so much in the last decade or so and every team is now competitive." There aren't any weak teams in the IPL, in my opinion. It is comparable to the Premier League, where any side can defeat any other squad.

However, it was not how things initially began. These days, with the involvement of so much technology, individuals are aware of the holes that need to be filled and select the appropriate players from the auction, etc.

In addition, Rohit recalled his time spent in the IPL with the late, great Shane Warne. "Warne possessed an exceptional cricketing intellect."

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