"Rohit and Virat were crying", Ashwin recalls atmosphere in dressing room after WC loss

Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin (Pic: AFP/File Pic)

India's veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed the Indian dressing room's atmosphere after facing a loss against Australia in the ICC World Cup 2023 final. He also praised Rohit Sharma's leadership skills.

The 'Men in Blue' ICC trophy drought has continued since 2014 as the Aussies claimed its sixth ICC World Cup title.

Ashwin revealed while having a conversation with former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath that Indian star players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were crying in the Indian dressing room post-final match.

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"Yes, we felt the pain. Rohit and Virat were crying. Seeing that it felt bad. Anyways, not meant to be. This team was an experienced team. Everybody knew what to do. And then, it was professional. Everybody knew their routines and warm-ups. I think two natural leaders gave the team the space to do these two and created a vibe," said Ashwin.

Ashwin lauded Rohit Sharma's captaincy for leading the team from the front, going after the bowlers from ball one. The all-rounder said that Rohit is an outstanding person with a great understanding of everyone.

"If you look at Indian cricket, everybody will tell you MS Dhoni is one of the best captains. Rohit Sharma is an outstanding person. He understands every single person in the team, he knows what each one of us likes and dislikes. He has a great understanding. He puts in the effort to know each member personally," said Ashwin.

Ashwin said that Rohit often ignored his sleep to become a part of team meetings.

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"He puts in a lot of effort. Forgoes sleep and becomes part of meetings, he first puts in the effort. He makes an effort to understand how to explain tactics to each person. That's an advanced level of leadership in Indian cricket," said Ashwin.

The spin-bowling all-rounder hailed Rohit for "walking the talk" with the bat.

"And also, walking the talk. Telling everyone to play a brand of cricket is one thing, but doing it and showing it on the field is another thing. I have known Rohit for a long time. What he did at the top set the ball rolling. he gave us the confidence. He said 'it is okay if we get out for 150. At least we will set the tone, instil fear'. I think all 11 in the team had a great World Cup," concluded Ashwin.

Skipper Rohit Sharma in 11 matches, scored 597 runs at an average of 54.27. His runs came at a strike rate of almost 126. He scored a century and three fifties. Rohit's best individual score of 131 came against Afghanistan. The fact that he made over 500 runs with a century, some half-centuries at a strike rate of over 125 is pretty marvellous and something rare in ODIs, especially in a tournament as high profile as the World Cup. He ended up as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

Coming to the final, Australia opted to bowl first and bundled out India for 240 in 50 overs. On a tough batting surface, skipper Rohit Sharma (47 in 31 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes), Virat Kohli (54 in 63 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (66 in 107 balls, with one four) posted important knocks.

Mitchell Starc (3/55) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia. Skipper Pat Cummins (2/34) and Josh Hazlewood (2/60) also bowled well. Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell got a wicket each.

In the chase of 241, India started off really well and had the Aussies down at 47/3. Knocks from Travis Head (137 in 120 balls, with 15 fours and four sixes) and Marnus Labuschagne (58 in 110 balls, with four boundaries) left the Indian team without answers and guided them to a six-wicket win.

Mohammed Shami took one wicket while Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets as well. Travis was given the 'Player of the Match' for his century.

(With ANI Inputs)