The former captain received an emotional homage from former Indian batsman Dinesh Karthik, who played a significant amount of cricket under Rahit Sharma. This is the complete homage:
Shubman Gill took Rohit Sharma’s place as India’s ODI captain on October 4 (Saturday), ending Rahit Sharma tenure as captain. After quitting up on the T20I format following the 2024 T20 World Cup victory, the Mumbaikar had also announced his retirement from the Test format earlier in the year.
However, his influence on the current Indian team is significant, as evidenced by their victories in the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2024 T20 World Cup. As an ODI captain, Rohit’s final act was to guide the Indian team to an undefeated Champions Trophy tournament run.
Rahit Sharma. Much obliged. In addition to being a tactically brilliant captain, you were also incredibly amiable and made everyone feel right at home. However, I value the legacy you have left as a captain.
According to Indian Express, Dinesh Karthik stated in a video he uploaded on his Instagram account, “You taught this current team what it takes to win in those big moments, those big matches.”
You didn’t leave it to anybody else when you said, ‘I think we need to move forward, put more pressure on the opponent, take more risks.’ Sometimes we would take the backward step. When you stated, “I’m going to go harder,” in the major matches, you probably started it with the bat. That was a necessary talent. You completed it and did so regularly. India has only lost one match in the three multi-nation tournaments we have participated in.
The Champions Trophy campaign and the 2024 T20 World Cup campaign are both undefeated. That last year, 2023. That’s fantastic. You can still observe the consequences even after that. Asia Cup undefeated with a youthful squad. That’s what you gave this Indian team. The fact that you left it in a better state than when you began is always a plus for a leader.
“You’ve averaged 52 runs per game with the bat while serving as an ODI captain. Additionally, you have led 56 games and won 42 of them. That record is incredible. As the saying goes, everything good must end. I sincerely hope and wish you the best of luck on your journey, since the entire Indian population was extremely proud of you when it saw you leading that team.
It was simply an incredibly lovely adventure to be a part of, and you accomplished some quite remarkable things. I hope your journey is making you really happy. It has been fantastic. Though it has been enjoyable to watch, I want to say that I wish you the best of luck in anything you do going forward. Best of luck. Even though you are still playing, that captaincy journey was simply incredible. “Excellent work,” Dinesh Karthik said.
India
