Rahul Dravid's philosophies helped India triumph in Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma

Ex-India captain Rohit Sharma credited former head coach Rahul Dravid’s long-term vision and leadership philosophies for the team’s triumph in the 2025 Champions Trophy, describing it as the result of a process that began years earlier. Dravid served as the head coach of the Indian team from November 2021 to June 2024. During his tenure, India lost several knockout matches in ICC events, including the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC), and the 2023 ODI World Cup finals.

However, the Men in Blue emerged victorious in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Dravid's final assignment as the head coach. Rohit served as the captain of the Indian team during Dravid's tenure, and the two formed a fantastic duo that remained in sync throughout.

Rohit, who led India to the Champions Trophy title in Dubai under Gautam Gambhir's coaching earlier this year, said at the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards on Tuesday that Dravid paved the way for the team's success at the multi-nation tournament.

“Look, I love that team. Loved playing with them. It’s a journey we were all a part of for many years. It’s not about one or two years of work — it was years in the making,” Rohit said while reflecting on India’s recent success.

“We’d come close to winning a trophy many times, but just couldn’t get over the line. That’s when we realised we had to try something different. There are always two sides to it — the thought of doing something, and then actually doing it. It can’t be done by one or two players. Everyone had to buy into that vision, and the fact that they did was crucial," he added.

Once we won the first game, we put that behind us immediately and began preparing for the next one: Rohit

Rohit explained the mindset that helped India achieve success at the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. The right-handed batter said that India approached each match with the same motivation and drive, not allowing complacency to slide in.

“All the players who were part of the Champions Trophy got into that mindset — how to win games, how to challenge ourselves, how not to take anything for granted. We focused on bringing those qualities into every game. Once we won the first game, we put that behind us immediately and began preparing for the next one. That helped us a lot, especially when we moved on to the T20 World Cup planning," Rohit said.

Rohit also explained how the consistency in thought and execution helped the Indian team thrive in ICC events post the heartbreaking defeat against Australia in the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

“That consistency in thought and execution helped both me and Rahul bhai during the 2024 T20 World Cup and again during the Champions Trophy. Although we didn’t cross the line in the 2023 final, the team had already committed to a new way of working. Everyone stuck to that,” he said.

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This was Rohit's first public appearance since being removed as India's ODI captain. However, he will continue playing 50-over cricket for the Asian giants. The 38-year-old has been named in India's squad for the three-match ODI tour of Australia, which gets underway on October 19. This will be his return to international cricket for the first time since the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand.