Rohit Sharma reveals reasons for eating soil after India’s World Cup triumph; still hasn’t slept properly
There were two telling looks from Rohit Sharma after India won the T20 World Cup, defeating South Africa by seven runs in a stunning final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. There were many, to be honest. But these two stand out. When Anrich Nortje hit the last ball of the match over midwicket for a single, Rohit lay down on the ground and hit it over and over. It was his way of letting the world know that his and India’s 13-year wait was finally over. They were world champions for the first time since 2011. They had come so close so many times but failed to cross the final hurdle, but not on June 29, 2024.
Hugs, tears, screams, pats and dance moves followed. After doing all this with his teammates and the support staff, Rohit silently walked towards the center of the field, tore off a piece of it and put it in his mouth. It felt so good that he did it again, as if the soil tasted better than any Mumbai Vada Pav.
A few days later, Rohit revealed the reason behind the act made famous by tennis legend Novak Djokovic. Rohit said that he wanted to keep a part of the court with him.
“You know… I was feeling the moment when I went to the field because that field gave us that. We played on that particular field and we won the game, that particular field as well. I will remember that field forever in my life and that field as well. So I wanted to have a piece of it with me. So yes, those moments are very, very special. And the place where all our dreams came true, I wanted something from it. That was the feeling behind it,” he said in a video posted by BCCI on Tuesday.
When asked about his other celebrations, Rohit said that all of them were spontaneous and had no particular reason. “See, these things are not really… I don’t think I can describe it because nothing was scripted. It was… It was all… You know, whatever was coming instinctively,” he said.
Rohit played a pivotal role with the bat and as captain to end India’s long wait for an ICC title. This was his third ICC final in less than 13 months and the Mumbai man finally found third time lucky.
“Yes, the feeling is surreal. I would still say it hasn’t fully sunk in yet. It was a great moment,” said Rohit, who became only the third Indian captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to win a World Cup.
“From the time the game ended till now, it feels like a dream. We still feel like it didn’t happen. Even though it happened, but it feels like it didn’t happen. That’s the emotion, that’s the feeling you get. We dreamed about this for a long period of time. We worked hard as a unit for a long period of time and to see it now with us feels quite, you know, relief as well because when you work hard for something and eventually you achieve it in the end, it feels good. Last night, I mean, we were having fun,” Rohit said.
Rohit still hasn’t slept properly, but the India captain doesn’t mind
“We had a lot of fun with the teammates until really early in the morning. So again, I would say I didn’t sleep well. But that’s absolutely fine for me. You know, not sleeping after a day like that, I’m totally fine. There’s plenty of time for me to go home and sleep. So I’ll catch up on that. But again, like I said, this moment was very, very special for all of us. And I want to live it. I want to live every moment, every second, every minute that’s passing by. I want to make the most of it.”
Rohit, who finished as the second-highest run-getter in a low-scoring tournament, announced his retirement from T20Is after the World Cup triumph. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were the other two stalwarts of white-ball cricket to call time on their T20I careers after World Cup success.
