Rohit Sharma breaks silence on World Cup final heartbreak: 'Was hard to digest but life moves on'

Rohit Sharma (Pic: AFP)

India skipper Rohit Sharma had no clue if he would ever get over the disappointment of the ICC World Cup 2023 final defeat but the love and understanding of fans has now 'motivated' him to make an earnest shot at another ultimate glory.

While Rohit didn't mention which ultimate glory he is talking about but it is fairly believable now that he is looking at leading India in next year's T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.

Rohit, who had a dream ICC World Cup 2023 as a skipper and batter till the final, was virtually in tears as he left the ground and had gone to England for a break to just relieve himself from the pain.

"I had no idea how to come back from this for the first few days. It was my family, friends that kept me going. They kept things light. It wasn't easy to digest but life moves on and it wasn't easy to move on," said Rohit, on his instagram fan page, airing his sentiments for the first time since November 19, when the team lost to Australia.

However, what Rohit loved was the appreciation and understanding of the fans of the team's brilliant show. Their kind words were part of his healing process.

"For me to see, people coming up to me, telling me that they were proud of the team, made me feel good. Along with them, I was healing as well. I felt, okay these are the kind of things you want to hear," Rohit said.

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While he must have felt for some time that there is nothing more left to achieve, the 36-year-old Indian skipper dropped enough hints that he is now ready for one final date with history.

"People, when they understand what the player must be going through and when they know these kind of things and not to bring out that frustration, that anger, it means a lot for us, for me definitely it meant a lot because there was no anger, it was just pure love from people that I met and it was wonderful to see that," Rohit said.

"So it gives you motivation to get back and start working again and look for another ultimate prize," he hinted at the T20 World Cup.

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Rohit had left for UK for two weeks right after the tournament.

"After the final, it was very hard to get back and start moving on, which is why I decided that I need to get my mind out of this. But then, wherever I was, I realised that people were coming up to me and they were appreciating everyone's effort, how well we played. I feel for all of them. They all, along with us, were dreaming of lifting that World Cup, along with us," Rohit said.

The support that the team received during the campaign was incredible.

"Everywhere we went during this entire campaign, there was so much support from everyone who came to the stadium firstly and people who were watching it from home as well.

"I want to appreciate what the people have done for us, in that one and half month period. But again, if I think more and more about that I feel quite disappointed that we were not able to go all the way."

The 50-over World Cup is the ultimate prize and it does get frustrating when one thinks about it.

"I have always grown up watching the 50-over World Cup. To me that was the ultimate prize, the 50-over World Cup. We've worked all these years, for that World Cup. And it is disappointing, right? If you don't get through it, don't get what you want, what you have been looking for all this while, what you were dreaming of. You get disappointed. You get frustrated as well at times," Rohit said.

(With agency inputs)