Superstar batter Rohit Sharma has revealed he considered taking an early retirement from cricket after losing the 2023 World Cup. The former ODI captain, who led the team to a fabulous unbeaten run through the tournament only to stumble at the last hurdle against Australia in Ahmedabad, said he didn’t feel like playing the sport anymore, because it had taken ‘everything out of my body’.
Rohit, who had the closest encounter to his childhood dream at the Narendra Modi Stadium, disappeared from public scrutiny for weeks after that final. He eventually returned and continued as the captain, too, helping the team win the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
“It was a tough pill to swallow but I knew life doesn’t end here,” Rohit said at
a recent event in Gurgaon. “It was a lesson for me, ‘how can I leave it behind and start something fresh’ because life doesn’t end there. I knew there was something else coming up, the T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies and I had to put all my focus there. It’s very easy to say for me right now but it was very difficult to do it at that time. At one point, I literally thought that I don’t want to play this sport anymore because it has taken everything out of my body and I don’t have anything left in me,” he added.
Rohit explained how he convinced himself to start chasing the dream again.
“It took me a little while to get back because I kept reminding myself that this is something that I love and dreamt of. It is right there in front of me and I cannot let it go so easily. It took a little bit of time and plenty of energy to get back on the field and start going again,” Rohit said.
Now, Rohit has retired from T20Is and Tests and was removed from ODI captaincy earlier this year. He continues to play the 50-over format, though, with an apparent aim to make a final attempt at the World Cup in 2027.
