Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes that India’s defeat to Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup in 2023 is the reason behind Rohit Sharma’s call to defer his retirement. While there were a lot of speculations around the Hitman potentially calling it a day after the Champions Trophy, the Indian skipper had brushed aside those rumours.
“Playing on the back of his mind”
Speaking on ICC Review, Ponting said that he believes that the heartbreaking loss to Australia in Ahmedabad in 2023 might still be playing on Rohit’s mind. He reckoned that Sharma wanted to have one more shot at the ODI World Cup after narrowly missing out on the previous one.
“I think probably the fact that they lost the last one and he was captain, that might be the thing that’s playing on the back of his mind,” Ponting noted
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“Just have one more crack at trying to win the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, and the ODI World Cup,” he added.
Ponting noted that looking at Rohit’s performance in the Champions Trophy final, one couldn’t say that his time was up yet. Reflecting on the Indian captain’s remarks on his retirement after the final, Ponting said that it indicated that it must mean that he has set the ODI World Cup 2027 as his next goal in his mind.
“And I think, the fact that he said that, to me, it means that he must have that goal in mind of playing in the next (50-over) World Cup (in 2027),” Ponting added.
What Rohit had to say on retirement
Despite a sub-par performance in the Champions Trophy group stage and semis, the Hitman delivered when it mattered the most. His 77-run knock in the final against New Zealand earned him the Player of the Match award.
“One more thing, I’m not going to retire from this format, just to make sure no more rumours are spread,” Rohit had told reporters earlier on March 9.
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