India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (August 21) thanked former head coach Rahul Dravid, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Jay Shah for their unwavering support.
Rohit acknowledged their roles in his endeavor to bring out the best in his players without being worried about the results.
This approach ultimately resulted in India's T20 World Cup 2024 victory, which also ended their long-standing ICC trophy drought.
Following the triumph, Rohit also announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game.
"It was my dream to transform this team and not worry too much about the stats, the results, to make sure that we create that environment where people can go out there and play freely without thinking too much," Rohit said, as quoted by PTI, after being named the men's international cricketer of the year at the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards.
"That is what was required. I got a lot of help from my three pillars, who are actually Mr Jay Shah, Mr Rahul Dravid (and the) chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar," he added.
"That was very critical for me to do what I did and obviously not to forget the players, who came in at different points in time and helped the team to achieve what we achieved," he further stated.
It was Rohit Sharma’s maiden ICC trophy as the captain of the Indian cricket team. Under his leadership, India lost the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final against Australia last year.
For Rohit, the feeling of winning the T20 World Cup was beyond words to describe. "(It was) a feeling that cannot come everyday. It was something that we were really hoping for. When we won the World Cup, it was important for all of us to enjoy the moment which we did pretty well and thanks to our nation as well for celebrating with us," he said.
"As much as it meant for us, it meant a whole lot to the entire nation as well. It felt really great to bring it (trophy) back home here and celebrate with everyone here."
"(It is a) fantastic feeling that can never be put out in words. I don't think it's a feeling that can be expressed. It won't do justice to our effect when all that happened," he elaborated.
The T20 World Cup triumph has intensified Rohit Sharma’s hunger to add more trophies to his cabinet.
"There is a reason I won five IPL trophies. I'm not going to stop, because once you get the taste of winning games, winning Cups, you don't want to stop and we'll keep pushing as a team. We'll keep striving for better things in the future," he said.
He wants to bring laurels for the national team as ODI and Test leader. "We've got a couple of solid tours coming up, very challenging ones as well. For us, it never stops. Once you achieve something you always look forward to achieving more.”
"That is what I will be doing. I'm pretty sure my teammates will be thinking on the same line. What I've seen in the last two years in Indian cricket, there's some real excitement, some real good cricket is being played," he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
