Rohit Sharma opened up on the disaster he felt after missing out from India’s squad for the ODI World Cup 2011 (Twitter Image).
Rohit Sharma reveals what kind of ‘disaster’ he had to go through after being left out of India’s ODI World Cup squad in 2011 and how painful it was that he missed many World Cup matches
Team India captain Rohit Sharma talked about the ‘disaster’ period he went through in his life after missing out on India’s 2011 ODI World Cup squad. While the Men in Blue went on to lift the World Cup at home, ending the much-awaited wait for the World Cup crown, Rohit, who won the 2007 T20 World Cup, did not feature in the squad for the 2011 spectacle.
It was only after 2013 that Rohit became a regular in the Indian team and was later handed over the captaincy in all three formats in 2022. Recalling the past horror of how he felt missing the ODI World Cup squad, the 34-year-old revealed that he didn’t watch the 2011 World Cup games except for the semi-final and final, where India beat Sri Lanka.
Rohit also said that he made many changes in his career during that phase where he knew that if things did not change for the better, it could lead to a ‘disaster’ and he would not be able to play cricket anymore.
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“To be honest, I haven’t watched the World Cup except for the semi-finals and the final because I was so disappointed that I didn’t want to, every time I turned on the TV I felt like I could have been there, what went wrong and stuff Like,” revealed the Mumbai Indians captain in a chat with Jiocinema.
The ‘Hitman’ further admitted that he had no one but himself to blame for missing the cut. However, the setback caused Rohit to make several changes in his lifestyle, in his game, and if not for that period, he knew his ‘life was in danger’.
“I had to make changes then or I knew I would not be playing cricket anymore, I knew my life was on the edge, if I don’t perform or if I don’t do certain things, it could go on.” a disaster. Then I would have nowhere to go, it was that kind of situation for me,” he said.
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Thankfully, becoming the captain of MI brought about a change in Rohit’s fortunes, who cemented his place in the Indian team as an opening batsman and has not looked back since then.
He came close to lifting the T20 World Cup last year but India lost to eventual champions England in the semi-finals, although Rohit will be hoping to bring back the home ODI World Cup 2023, which will be hosted in India in October-November.