Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour lauded PM Narendra Modi’s gesture of visiting the Indian team dressing room after they had lost the ICC World Cup 2023 final to Australia in Ahmedabad last November.
The Rohit Sharma-led side was unblemished throughout the competition until it suffered a crushing defeat in Ahmedabad. The Indians had a rough day at the office, being bowled out for 240. In response, Travis Head struck a match-winning hundred to help Australia capture its sixth World Cup title.
The Indian team was inconsolable in the dressing room with sadness filling the silence. Some had tears in their eyes while the others were just numb, trying to process the turn of events. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to the dressing room and spoke to the players.
He was seen holding hands with captain Rohit Sharma and batter Virat Kohli and shared some comforting words with the duo.
Vikram Rathour recalled how the words of motivation from the Indian Prime Minister lifted the players in the dressing room.
“That’s [the vibe] something extraordinary. That’s what a real leader is. The dressing room was very serious after losing the final. Everybody was low and down and suddenly he walked in. At least, I didn’t know he was coming. So everybody stood up, and the way he spoke to the team and assured them that ‘You all played very well. It’s okay if you lost one game. We are all proud of you'. That kind of message lifts you and it did, actually. Everybody in the dressing room felt great,” Rathour told former domestic cricketer Taruwar Kohli on his podcast.
The former India batting coach claimed that the team was in excellent form, and the winning streak gave them the confidence to do something exceptional at the finish. However, the end of the World Cup left them absolutely devastated.
“The atmosphere was great while we were winning. The crowd was terrific as well. They supported us throughout the tournament. I had never seen so many people turning up in blue. Wherever we went they were there. They turned up at the hotels on match days at 8 AM. It was something hadn’t seen before.
The atmosphere was such that we felt we were going to do something special this World Cup. The way the team was responding to that… we had just won the Asia Cup as well. Everything seemed right. But from there, not being able to finish on the winning side was heartbreaking,” he added.
