'Firstly, I want everyone to be available 100 percent' - Rohit Sharma's take on India's struggles of winning ICC tournaments

Similar to his predecessor Virat Kohli, team India captain Rohit Sharma has been questioned frequently regarding the team's inability to win ICC events since 2013. India’s most recent disappointment came in the World Test Championship 2023 final, where they lost the title to Australia after a humiliating 209-run defeat.

After Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy mantle, India have lost a chance to grab an ICC title not once, but twice. Before the WTC Final, India lost the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 and were knocked out of the tournament by eventual champions England after a 10-wicket defeat. The Indian team is now gearing up for their first WTC 2023-25 assignment as they take on West Indies in a two-match Test series.

Skipper Rohit Sharma, ahead of the red-ball assignment in Dominica, attended a press conference and was quite vocal on being asked about India’s failure to win ICC titles in the past decade, as he said:

“Firstly, I want everyone to be available. All my players, I want them to be available 100 percent. I don’t want any injury concerns. That’s first and foremost,” he said.

Rohit believes that the Men in Blue have been playing some real good cricket, but still they fail to get over the line. He said that the team will continue to improve and put in more efforts, while also adding that they also need the ‘luck factor’ to be on their side. Speaking further, Rohit stated:

“I feel that as long as you keep ticking the boxes, keep playing good cricket, things will fall into place. Overall the years, we have done a lot of good things. It’s just that sometimes you want luck to be on your side as well. Over last five-six years, we have probably won everywhere, but yes, winning championships are important as well. Until, we get that championship, we are going to keep fighting hard for it.”

I hope we accept the challenge and play well: Rohit

Team India’s last ICC title came back in the year 2013, when the then MS Dhoni-led side clinched the Champions Trophy. Exactly a decade later, India have a chance to break the curse with the ODI World Cup approaching. India won the 50-over World Cup in 2011 while playing on home soil, and with a similar opportunity presenting itself this time again, the Men in Blue will be aiming to clinch their third ODI World Cup title.

Before the all-important tournament, the team will face the Caribbean side in two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is. Speaking of the forthcoming tour, Rohit said:

“Every series that you play for India is challenging. Be it a new WTC cycle or the last one or one in between, every game is important. We played two finals in two cycles, but could not achieve what we wanted. This is a new team, there are a lot of new players. There will be a different challenge in this cycle. West Indies play well at home. Their past record at home is very good, so it will be a good challenge for our team. I hope we accept the challenge and play well.”