‘The proudest moment of my career’: Rohit Sharma marks one year of T20 World Cup win with heartfelt statement

Former T20I captain Rohit Sharma has opened up about the emotional journey one year after leading India to a historic T20 World Cup win in Barbados. Speaking to JioHotstar, Rohit spoke about how special the win was, calling it the 'proudest moment of his cricketing career.'

'Barbados will forever be in my veins'

Rohit said lifting the T20 World Cup trophy in Barbados was surreal and emotional, especially after all the heartbreaks India had faced in recent ICC tournaments. He recalled his own debut in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, which India also won under MS Dhoni. He also mentioned how much it meant to win the title under Rahul Dravid, who was the head coach at the time.

“Barbados will forever be in my veins. This is the proudest moment of my cricketing career. To lift that trophy, to be crowned ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Champions—it was surreal. I played in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and we won under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. And now, to win it again with Rahul Dravid as head coach—it meant everything to this group," Rohit said.

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"We’ve seen heartbreak. We’ve come so close. That’s why this one was so special. We worked and planned relentlessly—every day. And when we finally won, all the emotions came pouring out. The younger players, especially those playing their first World Cup, realised how hard it is to win one. Nothing can be taken for granted. It was magical,” he added.

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'Rahul bhai stayed for one last mission'

Rohit revealed that Rahul Dravid had planned to step down after the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they lost to Australia in the final. However, Rohit and the team management requested him to stay for one last assignment. Rohit said the win was extra special for him because his journey in international cricket began with T20s. He added that it felt like a full-circle moment to lead India to another T20 title almost 17 years later.

“Rahul bhai wanted to step down after the 2023 World Cup. But we said, ‘There’s another World Cup in six months. We’ve come this far. Let’s give it one more shot.’ He agreed—and I’m so glad he did. I’m sure even now he feels that he made the right decision. For me personally, it was also emotional. My identity as a cricketer began with this format—in the 2007 T20 World Cup. To come full circle and lift the trophy again in 2024—it was just fantastic.”

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India defeated South Africa in the final to win the T20 World Cup 2024, which ended their long wait of 11 years for an ICC trophy. Just 9 months later, India won another big title under Rohit’s captaincy – the Champions Trophy 2025.

Catch all episodes of ‘Champions Waali Feeling Phir Se’ with India’s T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma— only on JioHotstar and the Star Sports Network