In a raw and emotional disclosure, former Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma has shared the profound personal crisis he faced following India's devastating defeat in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. The star batsman confessed to seriously considering retiring from the sport entirely in the aftermath of the loss at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
The Depths of Despair After Ahmedabad
Speaking candidly at a Masters' Union event, Rohit described the period immediately after the final as one of the darkest of his career. "After the 2023 World Cup final, I was completely distraught and felt like I didn't want to play this sport anymore," he revealed. The emotional investment, particularly since taking over the captaincy in 2022, had left him utterly drained. He felt the game had "taken everything" out of him, leaving nothing behind.
The heartbreak was especially acute given India's dominant performance throughout the tournament. Under Rohit's leadership, the team had marched into the final with an unblemished record of ten consecutive victories. However, in the summit clash on November 19, 2023, Australia outplayed the hosts. India managed only 240 runs, a total that Travis Head's brilliant century chased down with six wickets in hand, silencing a packed stadium.
The Long Road to Mental Recovery
Rohit admitted that the collective disappointment of the team and the nation was overwhelming. "Everybody was extremely disappointed, and we just couldn't believe what had happened," he said. The personal toll was immense, as he had dedicated not just the months leading up to the event, but his entire tenure as captain to the World Cup dream.
The mental recovery was a slow process. "There was no energy left in my body. It took me a couple of months to recover and bring myself back," the 38-year-old explained. He credited self-reflection and reconnecting with his fundamental love for cricket as the key factors that helped him navigate through the despair and find his way back to the sport.
Redemption at the T20 World Cup 2024
That hard-won resilience paved the way for a historic comeback. Less than a year after the Ahmedabad heartbreak, Rohit led a determined Indian team to victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, held in the USA and the West Indies. He framed this triumphant chapter as a direct lesson learned from the previous shattering defeat.
"I knew life doesn't end there. It was a big lesson — how to deal with disappointment, reset, and start fresh," Rohit stated. He acknowledged that while the philosophy is easy to articulate now, living through that moment of profound loss was "extremely difficult."
Although Rohit Sharma has since stepped away from Test and T20 International cricket and handed over the ODI captaincy, his journey in the 50-over format continues. He is now driven by one final, unfulfilled ambition: a last attempt at lifting the ODI World Cup trophy in 2027.
