5 major statements made by Rohit Sharma in recent interview amid IPL 2025

Rohit Sharma announced his Test retirement with immediate effect on Wednesday, May 7, through a social media post. Rohit had a torrid run against Bangladesh and New Zealand in the home series last year.

His performances further took a hit in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, which saw Rohit drop himself for the final Test of the tour in Sydney.

With the tour of England slated to commence in June, Rohit Sharma’s decision means the Indian selection committee will name a new Test captain ahead of the five-match series.

Rohit, who is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, gave an interview to journalist Vimal Kumar where he spoke on different aspects of the game.

With the IPL having been suspended for a week, here are five major statements made by Rohit during the interview:

#1 “2023 World Cup has a special place in my heart”

During the interview with Vimal Kumar, Rohit Sharma said that the ODI World Cup 2023 held a special place in his heart despite India losing to Australia in the final. India won all their games before losing the final.

“2023 World Cup has a special place in my heart. After losing the match, we couldn't quite accept the fact that we had lost the final. I had to switch off after the loss and went out of the country for 15 days but it's not easy to switch off because the thing which you were wanting for so many years just slipped from your hands despite being so close. It's easy to say to get switched off after the loss because everyone worked so hard,” Rohit said.

The Men in Blue played a sensational brand of cricket all through the tournament but faltered in the final hurdle. Rohit said that during the tournament, there was a sense of anticipation and belief that they would do something special on match days. He said:

“The cricket which we played in 2023 was something else. The fun of playing cricket was totally different in that tournament. When I used to wake up during the match days, I am generally a very nervous person on match days. In that tournament, especially during the game days, it was a different feeling altogether. Today it will be fun.

"Every match the feeling was great. The atmosphere was the best in the dressing. I hadn't played cricket in that sort of an atmosphere before and credit goes to the coaching staff and everyone. It was just not because we were winning, the senior players and the coaches played a massive role.”

#2 Rohit’s next aim is to win ODI World Cup 2027

The disappointment of the 2023 World Cup final reflected in Rohit Sharma’s comments during the interview. But he seems to have moved on, having led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

With Test cricket and T20I cricket out of the fray, Rohit now aims at winning the 2027 World Cup which is slated to be held in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Rohit said it's on the back of his mind and it will be great if he can add the ODI World Cup trophy to his cabinet.

“Zehem mein bilkul hai (on playing ODI World Cup 2027). Bilkul (It’s definitely on my mind, without a doubt. Acha rahega agar aisa hua to (It would be great if that happens- on winning the ODI World Cup),” Rohit said.

#3 “KL Rahul is a crisis man”

KL Rahul has received severe criticism over the past few years for his batting style. But Rohit Sharma heaped praise on the wicketkeeper-batter and termed him as the crisis man for India.

He also lauded the experienced campaigner for always raising his hand for the team and doing whatever needed for the team.

“Pichle do teen saalo mai toh mere liye important player rahe hai woh. I look at him as a crisis man. Jaha pe humko KL se kuch karvana tha toh KL ne haath uthaya." (In the last two-three years, he has been an important player for me. I look at him as a crisis man. Wherever we needed KL to do something, he has raised his hand.)

"Keeping karna hai, chalo mai karta hu. Yaha pe batting karna hai, karta hu." (Have to do keeping, he will do it. Have to bat anywhere, he will do it),” Rohit said.

#4 Questioning commentary standards

Rohit Sharma lambasted the commentary standards in Indian cricket, blaming commentators of agenda-driven comments. He claimed that commentators singled out players who were out of form and didn't focus on in-depth analysis of the game.

Rohit Sharma’s form was the talk of town during the tour of Australia where he endured a torrid run, scoring just 31 runs in six innings. Rohit felt that the overseas commentary was of the top bracket compared to that in India.

"You guys are focused on creating controversy, on blowing up news. The quality of journalism has gone down. Earlier, conversations would revolve around cricket. Now, it's all about getting views, likes, and making more people read your articles. Very little is written or spoken about the game itself. Tactics, analysis - it's all missing. When there's a match on, we watch it on TV. But listen to how commentators speak these days.

"When we go to Australia, we hear their commentary and the difference in quality is vast. Here, it's so disappointing - and I'm being very honest. It seems like they just want to single out a player and keep talking about him or her. It's very disappointing," Rohit said.

He felt there was a way to criticize rather than being agenda driven.

“Yes, things have sometimes gone out of our hands and we haven't performed well. We fully deserve criticism for that. Yes, we didn't do well against New Zealand at home - so yes, criticize us. But there's a way to criticize people. I think here, it's agenda-driven criticism. That's not likeable,” the Indian ODI captain added.

#5 “Sports played to win games and trophies not achieve personal milestone”

After India’s shattering defeat against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, Rohit Sharma took the initiative of playing the role of an aggressor, and it worked wonders for India in white-ball cricket.

Speaking to Vimal Kumar, Rohit said that the sport was played to win games and trophies and not for achieving personal milestones.

“It is very fascinating and exicting for people who are doing stats. People who are sitting on television doing a chat among themselves and keeping talking about stats. You won't find everyone with good numbers but if you are producing results that is what matters. This is very important to inculcate this nature in India that personal 50s, personal 100s, personal fifers whatever that is it doesn't matter.

"If you have lost that match, then it counts to nothing. It hit me hard during the 2019 World Cup. Hit five hundreds, scored 650+ runs but we eventually lost the semi final so it doesn't matter at all. The game is different in Ranji Trophy, when you are here it's all about winning games, series and trophies.

"Even if you have scored just 40 runs in that series but have won the series, that is what matters. Sports is played to win games, trophies, not your personal milestones. I hope Indian cricket focuses on winning games rather than playing for personal milestones,” Rohit elaborated.

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