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A picture of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding the hands of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the Indian dressing room after the Men in Blue’s loss in the 2023 World Cup final has gone viral on social media. Modi visited the Indian team to boost their morale after the hosts went down to Australia in the summit clash.
Team India were unbeaten heading into the 2023 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. After winning all nine league games, they beat New Zealand by 70 runs in the first semi-final. However, the hosts failed to deliver on the big day and succumbed to a six-wicket loss in the final.
PM Modi, who attended the final, visited the Indian dressing room after the match and shared the pain of the players. In one of the pictures that has gone viral, he is seen consoling skipper Rohit and senior batter Kohli, holding their hands.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also shared a picture of the PM’s visit to the Indian dressing room and wrote that his support was special and motivating.
“We had a great tournament but we ended up short yesterday. We are all heartbroken but the support of our people is keeping us going. PM @narendramodi’s visit to the dressing room yesterday was special and very motivating,” Jadeja posted on X.
During his visit to the Indian dressing room, PM Modi was also seen hugging senior pacer Mohammed Shami. Acknowledging the PM's gesture, the Indian fast bowler took to X and posted:
“Unfortunately yesterday was not our day. I would like to thank all Indians for supporting our team and me throughout the tournament. Thankful to PM @narendramodi for specially coming to the dressing room and raising our spirits. We will bounce back!.”
Shami was the leading wicket-taker in the 2023 World Cup, claiming 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.71.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma dominated the batting charts in the 2023 World Cup
While India failed to end their ICC title drought, Kohli and Rohit excelled with the bat, finishing as the top two leading run-getters in the tournament. The former amassed a record 765 runs in 11 innings at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32, with three hundreds and six fifties.
On the other hand, Indian captain Rohit smashed 597 runs at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.95. He hit one hundred and three half-centuries. Shreyas Iyer (530 runs in 11 innings) also had an impressive 2023 World Cup campaign.
