Veteran India spinner R Ashwin has said that it broke his heart when India captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were in tears after losing the World Cup 2023 Final. While speaking to S Badrinath on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that the team of 2023 was one of the best teams ever in the ODI World Cup as well.
“Yes, we felt the pain. Rohit and Virat were crying. Seeing that it felt bad. Anyways, not meant to be,” Ashwin told S Badrinath on his YouTube channel. “This team was an experienced team. Everybody knew what to do. And then, it was professional. Everybody knew their routines, warm-ups. I think two natural leaders gave the team the space to do these two and created a vibe.”
However, R Ashwin applauded the India captain Rohit Sharma and shared the brand of leadership that Rohit had in the team as well. Ashwin also said that Rohit personally took time to know each and every player in the team, which was a special skill in his captaincy.
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“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,” he said about leadership. “He puts in a lot of effort. Forgoes sleep and becomes part of meetings, he first puts in the effort. He takes an effort to understand how to explain tactics to each person. That’s an advanced level of leadership in Indian cricket.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma managed to change the brand of cricket that India played in the ICC tournament as well. However, Ashwin said that it was easy to say that they wanted to play an aggressive brand of cricket, but it was Rohit who actually showed the way. Ashwin also said that Sharma really set the tone in almost all of the Indian matches and he was able to take the fear of losing away from the team as well.
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“And also, walking the talk. 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 the confidence. He said ‘it’s okay if we get out for 150. At least we will set the tone, instill fear’. I think all 11 in the team had a great World Cup,” concluded R Ashwin.
