Rohit Sharma considers the World Cup 2019 lessons that influenced his strategy for next ICC competitions.

On March 9, 2025, Rohit Sharma made history by winning the Champions Trophy in Dubai, which was just ended. Hard-fought victories against Australia and New Zealand in the semi-final and final, respectively, following the team’s undefeated record in the group stage. Following the 2024 T20 World Cup, this was India’s second white-ball trophy under Rohit’s direction.

Following his historic four-wicket victory over the Kiwis, Rohit Sharma thought back on the lessons he had learnt from previous ICC competitions, particularly the importance of adopting a team mentality.

“Over the years, we’ve talked about this a lot in the dressing room. It was always regrettable when we were so close to winning important competitions but failed to make it to the finals. We made faults in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final match against Australia that we hadn’t made in any of the other games. We lost the last spot because of that.

Whether it was in 2016 or 2017, the same thing occurred in later ICC tournaments. At times, we just did not have good fortune. We performed admirably in the first nine games of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, but we lost in the championship match. We had significant conversations about changing our approach prior to the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup,” Rohit said in an interview with JioHotstar.

Individual accomplishments, like as reaching a hundred runs or taking five wickets, were no longer the main focus because, in the end, they are meaningless if the team loses. In 2019, I discovered this the hard way. What did it mean when we didn’t win the title, even though I scored five hundreds in that World Cup? He continued, “Those five hundreds are on display in my house, but there isn’t an ICC World Cup trophy next to them.

In recent years, we have deliberately modified our strategy: Rohit Sharma

Speaking on the same subject, the 37-year-old emphasised how crucial it is that everyone on the team adhere to the previously indicated strategy. He also praised his team members for flawlessly carrying out the plans.

“Team sports are what cricket is. Winning championships, rather than just setting personal records, is what truly brings the satisfaction. Therefore, we have deliberately altered our strategy for the past few years. Within the team, we continued to emphasise this point.

You have to repeat the lesson until the youngster understands it completely, just like when you educate them at home. Everyone on the group needed to adopt this mentality in order to succeed. The crew as a whole had to share this mentality; it wasn’t simply about what I or anyone else thought. The guys deserve praise for adopting this novel strategy and seeing it through to completion,” Rohit said.

Rohit Sharma was undefeated in both tournaments, making him the first Indian skipper to win two ICC white-ball trophies. During the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, India did not lose a single match.