On the eve of the ODI series opener against Sri Lanka in Colombo, India skipper Rohit Sharma urged his team to shift their focus from the elation of their T20 World Cup triumph and concentrate on the forthcoming challenges.

After Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended post the T20 World Cup, Gautam Gambhir was appointed India’s new head coach. In his maiden assignment, Gambhir guided the team to 3-0 T20I series win over Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

The upcoming season will throw numerous challenges to Team India as they are slated to tour Australia for a five-match Test tour later this year, followed by the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy in the early part of 2025.

Rohit understands the importance of maintaining the team's winning momentum and building upon the success they have achieved under Gambhir in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

"I had a good time off from cricket. It was a great feeling to come back home after winning the World Cup...what we experienced in Delhi and Mumbai. But yeah, now we have to move on, cricket moves on," said Rohit, as quoted by PTI.

"Whatever we have done in the past, that was good for that particular period of time, but time keeps moving forward and we also need to keep moving forward," he added.

Following a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Australia in the 2023 World Cup on home soil, Rohit Sharma revealed that the team employed a strategy to look forward.

"That's what happened after the 2023 World Cup. There was a lot of disappointment, but we had to move on and look forward to this World Cup.

"Now, that the T20 World Cup is over, we have to think about what lies ahead of us as a team. Yeah, there is plenty to look forward to, a big tournament coming up," he remarked.

Rohit acknowledged that Gambhir's approach would differ from those who came before him.

"Gautam Gambhir has played a lot of cricket and he has been involved with franchise cricket also before. Obviously, it is going to be different from the previous support staff. Ravi Shastri was there before Rahul Dravid joined the team, every individual works differently.

"I know Gambhir for a very long time and we have played a little bit of cricket together. He has a very clear mind and knows what he wants from the team."

The Indian ODI and Test captain also mentioned that he has had discussions with Gambhir regarding the team's plan moving ahead.

"Basically, our chats have centred around what the team needs, what are our shortcomings, where have we done well etc. It was a discussion on how to take the team forward.

"But we don't want to plan too far ahead. We are here for three games, and the idea is to take something back from these three games, and learn how we want to play and what we want to achieve in ODI cricket."

Rohit refrained from commenting on the personality characteristics of Gambhir despite the latter's reputation for being a passionate individual.

"Gauti bhai does a lot of fun things in the dressing room, cracks a lot of jokes. Otherwise, I don't think we should get into his personal space like whether he laughs or not. Everybody has their own way," he noted.

Rohit emphasized that the team should be allowed to suffer a few losses in order to achieve the larger goal.

"At the end of the day, the standard of Indian cricket is more important and while doing that if you lose a game then it is absolutely fine. You are still trying to do something different and you are not compromising on the standard.

"We are a sports team, a cricket team, and we should also be allowed to lose while we are trying to do things differently," he explained.

However, Rohit made it clear that the team's focus would not shift from their objective of winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

"We want to achieve something out of every series or game we play, but not at the cost of not showing intent or purpose. It (the series) is not a practice ground. It is an international game.

"We want to play good cricket and achieve something out of this series. But sometimes, you have to understand that, when you want to play for the nation, the quality of cricket should remain the way it is."

(With PTI Inputs)