ODI World Cup 2023: Relive Rohit Sharma's Journey of Leading Indian Team in 2023 Tournament Despite Missing Out On The 2011 ODI World Cup
Being the captain of the Indian team in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, Rohit Sharma has gone a long way in ODI cricket to establish himself as one of the game's greatest batters.
Around 2007, Rohit joined the Indian team. At a young age, he knocked on doors for selection alongside players like Virat Kohli, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, and others.
Rohit Sharma, who was under 20 at the time, was a strong candidate to be named on India's World Cup team in 2007. However, the team think-tank and selectors decided against making that audacious decision at the final minute. Rahul Dravid, the captain at the time, oversaw the team's think tank.
India's World Cup campaign that year ended tragically when they were eliminated before the second round and chaos broke out throughout the nation.
The same year, Rohit participated in India's triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in South Africa, where the Men in Blue, led by MS Dhoni, won the championship.
In an attempt to make up for the combination, Dhoni and head coach Gary Kirsten tried out a number of young players between 2007 and 2011, Rohit being one among them.
It was anticipated that Virat, Rohit, and other up-and-coming players would lead the next generation. However, Sharma was left off of the 2011 World Cup roster just before it began.
When Dhoni asked Rohit to start the team's innings during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England, it was the moment that would change Rohit's career.
Rohit, who had up till then batted in a variety of middle positions, accepted the challenge and went on to establish a strong reputation for himself in the competition.
As the opening duo, Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan, led India to victory over England in the championship match.
As they began to accomplish more, the Indian squad made the decision to stick with the same opening combination, which helped India do well in white-ball cricket.
As they advanced to the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia, the combination of Rohit, Shikhar, and Virat established themselves as one of the most deadly top-order combos in cricket.
Despite their contribution, India was eliminated in the semifinals, while Australia won the championship at home. In the quarterfinal round of that world cup, Rohit struck for a century against Bangladesh.
Ultimately, Sharma played like a dream at the 2019 ODI World Cup, leading India to the semifinals with five hundreds. With the aid of Sharma's incredible scoring streak, India defeated nearly every team in the competition.
With his career back on track in all three formats, Sharma was winning many titles as the Mumbai Indians' captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
When Rohit began serving as India's full-time captain in 2022 and led his team to victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, he took on a new challenge in his professional life. After the campaign's disastrous conclusion, the discussion resumed.
A few weeks prior to the ODI World Cup at home, India captained the squad to victory in both the Asia Cup 2023 and the World Test Championship, which India lost against Australia.
His momentous moment arrived when it was declared that he will be captaining the team in the home tournament, making all of the ups and downs worthwhile as India looks to win the trophy for the first time in twelve years.
Rohit, who first came to prominence in 2006 and was always regarded highly even in his early days, has the biggest chance to prove to the world why he was so highly regarded during the 2023 World Cup campaign.
Dravid, who served as his first captain and nearly provided him a break at the 2007 World Cup, will be his partner. Despite having missed the incredible Sharma during the 2007 season, Dravid will support him in his role as head coach.
Can they make up for lost time now that 16 years have passed? That is the key question as India took on Australia in Chennai on Sunday to start their ODI World Cup 2023 campaign.