Rohit Sharma addressed students at Masters’ Union, one of India’s leading business and technology schools, during their convocation ceremony in Gurugram on Sunday, where he was invited as chief guest. The former India captain was felicitated and a free-wheeling interaction with the students followed.
Rohit was asked about pivoting a couple of times in his cricket career, from an off-spinner to a batter, and then a middle-order batter to an opener. The batting stalwart said: “The reason I started as an off-spinner was because I always loved batting. There was no doubt about it. But the off-spin came in because we had a selection trial where I lived, which was for a summer camp I wanted to join. In that camp, the selection trial happens in a way where you have to stand in a queue, and the selectors and coaches call upon you to execute your skills.”
He continued: “As we all know in India, everyone loves to bat. So there was a huge queue for batters and not much for bowlers. I thought I could either waste my entire day standing in the queue for batting, or I could try my skills in bowling. Luckily, the selectors liked what I did with the ball, and that’s how I started bowling.
“In the school I went to, they also needed someone who could bowl off-spin. Eventually, my love for batting came back about a year after I joined the school, when I was around 11 years old. That’s when I got to play for my school and show that I could do both — not just bowl, but also bat.”
The defeat in the 2023 World Cup final still hurts. India were arguably the best team in the tournament, but Australia trumped them when it mattered most. What was the team talk after the game?
“In Ahmedabad, nothing actually. Everyone was extremely disappointed. We just couldn’t believe what had happened,” Rohit said.
He added: “It was a very tough time for me personally because I had put everything into that World Cup. Not just in the two or three months before it, but ever since I took over as captain in 2022. My only goal was to win the World Cup, whether it was the T20 World Cup or the 2023 World Cup.
“I was completely distraught. There was no energy left in my body. It took me a couple of months to feel like myself again. When you put so much into something and don’t get the result, that reaction is natural. It was a tough pill to swallow.
“But I knew life doesn’t end there. It was a big lesson, how to leave that disappointment behind and start something afresh. I knew another opportunity was coming up: The T20 World Cup in the US and the West Indies. I had to shift my focus there.
“That’s easy to say now, but it was very difficult at the time. At one point, I genuinely thought I didn’t want to play the sport anymore because it had taken everything out of me.
“It took time to come back. I kept reminding myself that this is something I love, something I dreamt of, and I couldn’t let it go so easily. It took a lot of energy and thought to get back on the field and start moving again.”
Then there was the 2024 T20 World Cup, India eventually ending their 11-year-long ICC title drought, beating South Africa in the final. What was going through his mind in the final four overs.
“I went back to my old-school thinking — let South Africa enjoy only when the last ball is bowled and they’ve won the World Cup. Until then, the game is alive,” Rohit gave the low-down.
“We focused on body language. Even under pressure, even when things weren’t going our way, we wanted to fight it out. We kept reminding ourselves that winning the World Cup is what we live for. It was right there in front of us, and we couldn’t let it go easily.
“It wasn’t about me telling everyone what to do. Everyone knew we had to fight. All 11 players on the field showed that body language, and the opposition could sense that this wasn’t going to come easy.
“That hunger, that mindset, was visible. Hats off to everyone who was there on the field.
“Personally, I wanted to stay calm so I could make the right bowling changes and field placements. As a leader, you can’t look panicked or show the opposition that the game is done.
“I kept engaging with the bowlers — how can we take wickets and stop runs? We knew anything could happen until the last ball. We went with that mindset, and it was great to see how the last four overs panned out.”
He had words of wisdom for the students. “Whenever you start anything in life, it’s going to be difficult. But how you start doesn’t matter as much as how you finish.”
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