India captain Rohit Sharma is banking on the “massive” support that the team will receive from the Indian fans and the crowd in the stadiums during the World Cup 2023.
India will be hosting the ODI World Cup after 12 years; the last time they did, back in 2011, MS Dhoni ended a 28-year drought with his magical sixer. Rohit Sharma will be aiming to end India’s decade-long ICC title drought this year.
The World Cup 2023 trophy has started its world tour, and currently, it was in the West Indies and the USA, where Rohit Sharma was also present. Rohit Sharma was impressed with the “beautiful” World Cup and vowed that his team will give their all to lift the trophy come November 19 in Ahmedabad where the final will be played.
“I’ve never seen it so close. Even when we won in 2011, I was not part of the squad. But yeah, it looks beautiful, so many memories behind the trophy as well, the past, the history. Yeah, so, it looks beautiful and hopefully we can lift it, fingers crossed,” Rohit told ICC.
“I know for a fact that every ground, every venue that we will get massive support. You know, it’s the World Cup, so everyone is looking forward to this and the World Cup coming back to India after 12 years.”
Rohit Sharma laments semi-final losses in World Cup 2015 and 2019
In a detailed conversation, Rohit Sharma recalled his various feelings and emotions about India’s history in the past four ODI World Cups, two of which he was part of.
“2011 was a memorable one for all of us, I remember watching it from home, every single match, every single ball which was being bowled and that was being played.
“There were two kinds of emotions, one was obviously I was not a part of it, so I was a little disappointed. I decided I was not going to watch the World Cup, but again, the second memory I remember was that India was playing so well, quarterfinals onwards.”
He was the leading run-scorer in the 2019 World Cup, but India lost in the semi-finals.
“In 2015 and 2019, I was a part of it, which felt really good to play the World Cup. We went to the semi-finals, tried everything we could to go to the finals and play well in the finals, but again, a very unfortunate incident where we couldn’t go through to the finals,” he said.
