Winning unbeaten makes this even more special: Rohit Sharma

New Delhi, Mar 10: After leading India to an unbeaten ICC Men’s Champions Trophy victory, captain Rohit Sharma opened up about the team’s journey, overcoming challenges, and his personal outlook on the future. Rohit shared insights into India’s approach, their ability to handle adversity, and the evolution of their mindset since past tournament heartbreaks. India’s Champions Trophy campaign was nothing short of remarkable. In the final, they defeated New Zealand by four wickets at the Dubai International Stadium.

“We went undefeated despite losing all five tosses. Yet, we still won the trophy,” he said. “Winning a tournament without a single defeat is a massive achievement in itself, and it gives me immense satisfaction. Until we lifted the trophy, no one really thought about it. But after the victory, it hit us—we had gone through the entire tournament unbeaten. That realisation made it even more special," Rohit said on JioHotstar.

Rohit credited the team’s unity and clarity of roles for their success. “We have an incredibly solid team, and it’s a joy to play alongside such committed individuals. Everyone knows their role and responsibilities—what needs to be done and what must be avoided. Of course, emotions run high on the field. Sometimes, I get a bit carried away, but it’s all in the spirit of the game. The main goal is to win, and we are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve that.”

Preparation played a key role in ensuring India could adapt to conditions without Bumrah, he said. “After the Australia tour, we had about 20-25 days before the tournament. We closely monitored the ILT20 matches to study the pitches and playing conditions. We analysed what kind of bowlers were needed for those surfaces and shaped our squad accordingly.”

Reflecting on India’s previous failures in ICC tournaments, Rohit pointed to a significant change in mindset that helped them finally cross the finish line.

“It was always unfortunate that we came so close to winning major tournaments but couldn’t get over the line. In the 2015 World Cup semi-final against Australia, we made mistakes we hadn’t made in the previous matches. The same thing happened in 2016, 2017, and even the 2023 World Cup final,” he admitted.

The turning point came when the team decided to prioritise collective success over individual milestones. “Before the 2023 World Cup, we had serious discussions about shifting our mindset.