"Rohit and Virat were crying, seeing that we felt...": R Ashwin on World Cup final 2023 heartbreak

Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was included in Team India squad for ICC World Cup 2023, spoke about the heartbreaking scenes following India's defeat in the World Cup final against Australia.

 

Notably, India was unbeaten in the competition and headed towards the final but were completely outplayed by Australia, thanks to Travis Head and the bowlers to claim a record-extending sixth World Cup title.

 

 

In a recent interaction, Ashwin said that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ended up in tears after the defeat.

 

"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, warm-ups. I think two natural leaders gave the team the space to do these two ( Kohli and Rohit) and created a vibe," said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

 

Although India ended as runners-up in Cricket World Cup 2023, Rohit received a lot of praise for his explosive batting at the top of the order and his captaincy. Ashwin praised Rohit as someone who understands all the other players and explained that he puts extra effort to know more about them.

 

"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," stated Ashwin.

 

Meanwhile, Ashwin made an interesting observation regarding Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians - the two most successful team in IPL history - and their philosophy on players release.

 

"Trading so many players or releasing so many players is not a well-known practice so far in the IPL. Because if you look at these IPL teams and talk to them, especially with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, there has been a trend. They have never given players, they have only taken players. And they have five titles each. That's a proper platform that they have built their franchise on," Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.