Rohit Sharma hopes that India qualify for FIFA World Cup soon

Rohit Sharma

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma hopes that the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) would help football grow throughout the country. He has also said that he hopes that India can qualify for the FIFA World Cup one day.

With this year’s World Cup starting this week, many current and past cricketers seem to have been attracted to football. Rohit Sharma is no exception. Cricket has been the number one sport in India for a long time, but football seems to be catching up. India is not even in the top 150 in the FIFA rankings and has never played at the World Cup, but recent initiatives seem to be positive, especially with I-League witnessing record crowds last season.

“I'm not totally clued in to the infrastructure of football in India but most of us know key names like Bhaichung (Bhutia) and Sunil Chhetri and with the ISL (Indian Soccer League) making waves, I don't see us being as far behind as most think. I, for one, would love to catch a game or two if our schedule permits and I'd like nothing more than to see India qualify for World Cup someday,” Sharma said.

He further added, “It's one of the leading sport in the world and we're one of the greatest nations, so I see no reason why we can't be up there competing with the rest. It's a great initiative by Reliance and I think it will do wonders for the sport here in India and I wish them all the luck.”

Rohit is one of the few players who have been rested for the upcoming one day series against Bangladesh, but has made it to the Test squad to face England next month.