Time to move on from T20 WC win, we’ve to think about what lies ahead: Rohit Sharma

Colombo, Aug 1 (PTI) India skipper Rohit Sharma said it’s time to move on from the euphoria of the T20 World Cup victory as he looked forward to continuing the success under new head coach Gautam Gambhir in a season full of challenging assignments.

Rohit’s side has started a new journey under Gambhir with the ongoing white ball series against Sri Lanka and the season ahead has some top-of-the-shelf tournaments, including the Champions Trophy early next year.

“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 on the eve of the first ODI against Sri Lanka here.

Rohit had retired from T20Is following the triumph.

“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.

Rohit said the team adopted a similar approach after the defeat to Australia in last year’s 50-over World Cup at home.

“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 added.

Rohit admitted that the ways of Gambhir will be different from his predecessors.

“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 Mumbaikar said he has held chats with Gambhir about the team’s blueprint for the future.

“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.”

Gambhir comes with the tag of an intense person, but Rohit did not read too much into the personal traits of the new head coach.

“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 said while trying to achieve certain goals, the team should be allowed to go through a few defeats, an inevitable part of the sport.

“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 elaborated.

However, Rohit insisted that the team would not waver from its target of an ODI series win over 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.”