Rohit Sharma
Credit: PTI Photo
Rohit Sharma made his first public appearance since being replaced as India’s ODI captain, attending the CEAT Cricket Rating awards in Mumbai, where he reflected on India’s recent success and shared his excitement about the upcoming series against Australia.
The 38-year-old veteran batter, who has been a cornerstone of Indian cricket for over a decade, highlighted the importance of a collective mindset instilled by himself and Rahul Dravid. Rohit elaborated on the process that helped India achieve consistency on the international stage and winning back to back ICC titles - the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy in 2025. “All the guys who took part in that competition got into that thought process of how to win games, how to challenge ourselves, and not be complacent or take anything for granted. Those were the qualities we tried to bring in, and we thought it was a good method of just going and doing that repeatedly,” he said.
The former skipper credited unity and a strong team culture as India’s greatest strengths. “Everyone enjoyed that process. Once we got over the line when we won the first game, we completely put that game aside and then started focusing on the next one. That was really good from the team, and that is something that helped me and Rahul bhai when we were planning for the T20 World Cup, and then on to the Champions Trophy. We just carried it well,” Rohit added.
While the discussion did not touch on his recent removal as ODI captain by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Rohit expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming series in Australia, marking 17 years since his first tour down under in 2008.
“I love playing against them. I love going to Australia. It’s a very challenging country to play cricket. People there love the game as well. But certainly, Australia is a different challenge every time they play against us. Having been there several times now, I do understand what to expect. Hopefully, we can go there and do what the Indian team is supposed to do and get the result in our favour,” Rohit said.