‘This will be my last T20 World Cup…’: Rohit Sharma opens up on India’s change of mindset and ICC trophy success

India’s record in the last three ICC events is envious. Rohit Sharma and co have lost just one match out of the 23 they have played across the last three white-ball ICC events. That one defeat came in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup against Australia. Barring this, India had flawless campaigns in the T20 World Cup 2024 and the Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit Sharma, who recently led India to their Champions Trophy title, finally opened up on the recent success that has come his way.

India did not lose a single game in the T20 World Cup 2024 and Champions Trophy 2025, showcasing their dominance in both tournaments. Rohit Sharma was candid enough to accept the defeat in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England, changed his team’s approach and led to them becoming world-beaters.

India was hammered in the semi-final against England, and the side suffered a ten-wicket defeat in Adelaide. After this, Rohit Sharma changed his approach with the bat, signalling intent right from the very start. The turnaround is now there for everyone to see and celebrate.

“It started literally way back in 2022 when we played that World Cup in Australia. Although we didn’t go on to win the finals, we didn’t qualify for the finals. We lost the semis. But thereafter, I think we made a lot of things very clear with the players that this is what we expect from you, and this is how we want you to play,” Rohit Sharma said in an interview with Mumbai Indians.

“So there was a lot of clarity and conversations with the player. To perform, there needs to be a lot of freedom amongst the group so they can go and play without fear. There were a few lows and a few series that we lost, but we never panicked, and we never went away from our thought process,” he added.

Rohit, 37, also said that his side has gone through a lot in the last few years, alluding to the recent Test series losses against New Zealand at home and Australia away.

“Imagine if we would have won the 2023 ODI World Cup final. To go undefeated in three ICC tournaments is crazy, never heard of. But I will take this: 22 wins in 23 games is unheard of. Again, when you see this in 22 wins out of 23 games, it looks very nice from the outside. But the team has gone through a lot of ups and downs. We had some really tough times as well, but that is when you got to celebrate. When you do things like this, you have to celebrate, and you deserve everything there, ” Rohit said.

“So I feel that all the people who played these three tournaments deserve respect. After the T20 World Cup 2024, we had a little bit of a low where we lost a home series and didn’t play well in Australia. And then came the Champions Trophy. This nine months was a perfect example of how life is,” he added.

‘2024 was a low for Mumbai Indians’

In IPL 2024, Mumbai Indians finished last in the points table. Since Hardik Pandya was given the captaincy, there was a lot of noise surrounding the team. Fans of Rohit Sharma did not like the change in guard, and as a result, Hardik faced merciless booing at every stadium Mumbai Indians went to.

Rohit also discussed MI’s performance last season, revealing that his focus was on the T20 World Cup, as it would have been his last tournament in the shortest format for India.

For the uninitiated, Rohit Sharma had announced retirement from T20Is after India won the World Cup in Barbados by defeating South Africa in the final.

“It was a low for the team, and I thought we didn’t play our best cricket. And there were so many things to look forward to after the IPL. I knew a World Cup was coming up, and then I had to shift my focus to the World Cup, knowing that this would be my last T20 World Cup. So I wanted to make it count,” said Rohit.

“And obviously, I knew without the help of other players, it would not be possible. So we just got around, you know, as a group, and then there was a lot of collective performance from everyone throughout the tournament, which was very, very good to see,” he added.

In the IPL 2025 match against Chennai Super Kings, Rohit Sharma got out for a duck, and the right-hander will now look to make it count against Gujarat Titans on Saturday, March 29.