Rohit Sharma credits ‘three pillars’ for helping him transform team India

Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, India finally ended their wait for an ICC trophy by lifting the T20 World Cup 2024. On the night of the finals, they defeated South Africa by seven runs as many of the senior players were spotted in tears, including the captain and star batter Virat Kohli, who played a pivotal part in the summit clash.

Speaking about their success in the tournament, Rohit thanked BCCI secretary Jay Shah, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and former head coach Rahul Dravid for their constant support. He also terms them as ‘three pillars’ and added that his goal was to transform team India into a winning side. The 37-year-old added that he didn’t worry much about stats or results, and wanted to create a positive dressing room and give freedom to all the players.

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“It was my dream to transform this team and not worry too much about the stats, the results, to make sure that we create that environment where people can go out there and play freely without thinking too much,” said Rohit after being named the Men’s International Cricketer of the Year during an event in Mumbai.

“That is what was required. I got a lot of help from my three pillars, who are actually Mr Jay Shah, Mr Rahul Dravid (and the) chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. That was very critical for me to do what I did and not to forget the players, who came in at different points in time and helped the team to achieve what we achieved,” he added.

Once you achieve something you always look forward to achieving more: Rohit

The T20 World Cup is over and Rohit now has new goals and new challenges to address. India will be playing 10 Test matches - two against Bangladesh, three against New Zealand and five against Australia later in the year and the goal is to do well in all the matches. If India wins all the matches, they will once again qualify for the WTC finals and this time, they will hope to win it, as secretary Jay Shah has already expressed his confidence in getting the job done.

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“We’ve got a couple of solid tours coming up, very challenging ones as well. For us, it never stops. Once you achieve something you always look forward to achieving more. That is what I will be doing. I’m pretty sure my teammates will be thinking on the same line. What I’ve seen in the last two years in Indian cricket, there’s some real excitement, some real good cricket is being played,” Rohit added.