This year Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian side for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and will aim to produce the same result as in 2011, when Dhoni won the World Cup with his iconic team. This year, the Indian team will also look to end the 10-year wait for an ICC trophy, as 2013 was the last time India won an ICC Trophy. Recently at the ICC World Cup 2023 schedule announcement event in Mumbai, Virender Sehwag, who was a part of the 2011 World Cup winning side, said that India played that edition for Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, and this time India will be keen to lift the trophy for Virat Kohli just like the 2011 batch did for Sachin.
These two veterans will be leading the batting line-up of India
Rohit Sharma ascended the throne of captaincy in 2021 and replaced Virat Kohli as India’s skipper across all formats ahead of last year’s T20 World Cup. The Indian team made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 and lost to England. Recently, the team also lost the World Test Championship final against Australia.
It’s been a decade since Veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been leading the batting line-up of the Men in Blue. These two batting icons are expected to enter the final phase of their respective white-ball careers after this year’s World Cup. Former Indian Skipper Sourav Ganguly also recently made a statement while discussing the future of Rohit and Virat in white-ball cricket.
Ganguly about Virat and Rohit’s future
During a talk with Star Sports, Ganguly stated that he doesn’t believe too much the first time, last time and he only believes in performances. While talking about Veterans Virat and Rohit, he said, “I think they are 34 or 35 , we don’t know what will happen in the next World Cup. Every year there are World Tournaments like T20 cricket and 50-over cricket. It is not like the past when we started playing cricket. That time it was once every four years, and now there is also the ICC Champions Trophy. So it is about performance, and I’m sure Rohit as a skipper and Virat would like to be a part of it and make it big, not from a personal point of view but from the winning point of view”.
Kohli’s words for Tendulkar that won hearts
In 2011, when India won the World Cup, Rohit was overlooked by the selectors. Kohli was part of India’s squad in the 2011 World Cup, and when he lifted Tendulkar at the Wankhede stadium after the win, he said “Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, so now it is our time to carry him on our shoulders”, These words won the hearts of every Indian fan. After 2011, Kohli is yet to win his second ODI World Cup.
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