Experienced Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin shared his emotional experience, expressing how difficult it was for him to witness tears in the eyes of India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, and star batsman Virat Kohli. This heartfelt moment unfolded after the Men in Blue faced a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final held in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma emerged as outstanding performers in the event, demonstrating their batting skills. Kohli picked up an incredible 765 runs in 11 innings, collecting three hundreds and surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for the most ODI centuries. The semi-final versus New Zealand witnessed Kohli achieving his 50th century, a milestone unequaled in ODIs.
In addition to his centuries, Kohli also contributed with 9 fifty-plus innings during the World Cup, including 6 half-centuries. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma played a significant role in India’s dominating campaign, offering aggressive starts. His aggregate of 597 runs made him the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, falling just behind Virat Kohli.
“Yes, we felt the pain. Rohit and Virat were crying. Seeing that, it felt bad. Anyway, it was not meant to be. This team was an experienced one. Everybody knew what to do. And then, it was professional. Everybody knew their routines and warm-ups. I think two natural leaders gave the team the space to do these two (Kohli and Rohit) and created a vibe,” said Ashwin on Badrinath’s YouTube channel.
Ravi Ashwin has quite the cricketing journey, having been part of three ODI World Cups. He clinched the 2011 title with MS Dhoni at the helm and reached the semi-finals in the 2015 edition. Fast forward to the recent CWC 2023, Ashwin found himself on the field under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, after previously playing in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, again under Rohit’s captaincy.
“If you look at Indian cricket, everybody will tell you MS Dhoni is one of the best captains. Rohit Sharma is an outstanding person. He understands every single person in the team; he knows what each one of us likes and dislikes. He has a great understanding. He puts in the effort to know each member personally,” Ashwin further added.
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“He puts in a lot of effort. He forgoes sleep and becomes part of meetings; he first puts in the effort. He makes an effort to understand how to explain tactics to each person. That’s an advanced level of leadership in Indian cricket.
Telling everyone to play a brand of cricket is one thing, but doing it and showing it on the field is another thing. I have known Rohit for a long time. What he did at the top set the ball rolling. He gave us confidence,” Ashwin said.
Heading into the final, India was the favorite team, riding on the momentum of winning 10 consecutive wins in the competition. However, their off day, along with a stroke of ill luck, culminated in the final, continuing India’s ICC title drought that had stretched for a decade.
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