Rohit, I think it was three months ago on my show when you said, “I really want to win the World Cup,” and I think everybody here and everyone watching at home could feel that coming from the deep corners of your heart. Can you find the words right now to explain what this trophy means to you?
Firstly, thank you everybody, thank you very much. Since the time we have come to India, it’s been wonderful. The reception we’ve got here tells you the kind of enthusiasm, the kind of waiting that people had. So this trophy, yes of course, it means so much to us, but it is for the entire nation along with, you know, all the players who have represented the country. I think the people who have been wanting for us to win this trophy, this trophy belongs to them. But look, it’s been only three or four days now since the final happened. We just arrived this morning. Honestly, it was a wonderful experience and a great honor to meet Mr. Narendra Modi in the morning with the team. We all know how passionate he is about the sport. So again, bringing this World Cup to this country means a lot to us. And then obviously, in Mumbai, we got a solid reception, you know. Yes, on behalf of my team and the entire BCCI, I would like to thank the fans, the entire nation, the people who support the game, who watch the game, and along with all of us for the last 14 years. You know, they are the ones who have been wanting this trophy to come back to India, 11 years, sorry not 14 years. But finally, it’s here. I am very very happy and relieved.
2007, you were part of that victory. Can you feel the difference now in 2024? What do 17 years mean to everyone here?
I mean, look, for me, every World Cup win is a very very special moment. So I would like to leave where 2007 was right there because it was very very special. It was the inaugural T20 World Cup, we won it, and we showed the world this is how you win the T20 World Cup. It was the first time ever. And again, when we won the 2011 World Cup at this very ground, Wankhede Stadium, again, it was very very special. Champions Trophy 2013, we won in England, and then again to bring this trophy back to Wankhede feels very very special.
Tell us a little bit about the moments. So two moments I want to talk to you about: one, when you saw Surya take that catch. We can see you. Tell me what happened in your mind when you saw it from long-on to long-off.
I was standing at long-on and Surya was at long-off. Obviously, Hardik was bowling a crucial over for us, the last over. You know, no matter how many runs you need, there is so much pressure to bowl that over. But, to talk about the technical aspect of the game, we discussed in that last over because the wind was blowing across the ground quite heavily. And we had a brief chat about what we wanted to do because we all know David Miller can be a very dangerous player and he has played that role to perfection most of the time. So we wanted to keep it away from him. And, you know, Hardik bowled that ball and then when it went up in the air, obviously for a moment I thought because he hit with the wind, so I thought it might go, but it was written, everything was written. So I am glad that, you know, it didn’t carry to the ground so much. And for Surya to take that catch was exceptional. When we say practice makes a man perfect, that is what it is. He practices those things in training so much, and we know when the pressure is there and those catches need to be taken, you can remember all those things that you have done in your training. And that is what, you know, Surya did, to take that catch right on the boundary was a great effort.
And last, last question to you. You become the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup undefeated. You did not lose a single game. It was a complete team effort. Is it safe to say that not even a single minute in any match did you drop your guard?
Firstly, I think I am very very proud of this team. I am very lucky to have a team like this who, at any given point in time, want to stand up and get the job done for the team. But see, again, there are so many people sitting over there. It will be very unfair for me to just name a few individuals. It is the entire players and the support staff, and this work started three or four years ago. You know, it was the effort of what we’ve done in the last three or four years. And for us to, you know, put a thought to something, and then everyone to buy into that thought was again a very challenging one for us. For us to then come together and then buy into that thought and say that this is what, this is what we want to do, this is how we want to play. It takes a lot of, you know, courage, but that’s what the team did. And I am very very proud of it. This team did indeed show a lot of courage and a lot of fight and a lot of belief, and they deserve all our love and all our cheering. They really have done us proud.
And while leaving, I know that the Mumbai crowd is very disappointed that the drive was so short, but the millions of people here, here, here, there is a lot of noise. What do you want to say to this fantastic crowd?
Look, this shows that, as I said, as much as we players were desperate to win the World Cup, on June 10th we did something that brought so much happiness to the faces of millions of people. So I am very happy. As I said, this team is very special, and I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to captain such a team.
And we are very lucky that you are here with the trophy, and we got the chance to meet you, meet this team, and clap for you.
Thank you so much, Captain Rohit Sharma, ladies and gentlemen.
Read here: India’s performance in T20 World Cup excellent: IPL chief
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