'Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj missed out': Rohit opines on his captaincy, 'grateful' to lead India in CWC '23

Rohit Sharma became India's full-time captain early in 2022. Thus, captaincy came very late for Rohit. Back then, he was 34 and just a few months away from turning 35. Ahead of the CWC 2023 edition, which kicks off in India on October 5 (Thursday), the Indian captain Rohit expressed his gratitude for leading India across formats as he believes many big names missed out on becoming the national side's skipper in the past.

When India last hosted the ODI World Cup, along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011, MS Dhoni-led Men in Blue won the coveted title (for the second time overall in the country's rich cricketing history). Back then, Rohit was not even part of the World Cup squad. In the current scenario, Hitman will be leading India in the mega event where the hosts' campaign starts on October 8, facing Australia in Chennai.

Since taking over as India's captain, Rohit has had mixed results -- with a semi-final exit in 2022 T20 World Cup, WTC final loss and Asia Cup title last month. Thus, the 36-year-old will be eager to help India lift the 50-over World Cup once again and leave an impact as a captain. Ahead of his stint as captain in the marquee event, Rohit acknowledged the role and responsibility given to him, mentioning that some superstar players such as Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, etc. did not havethe luxury to lead despite having stellar careers.

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Talking to the Indian Express, Rohit said, "Obviously, you want to be at your peak for this, say when you are 26-27. But you cannot always get what you want. You are talking about the Indian captaincy and there have been stalwarts in the Indian team. Many more players deserved to be the captain of the team. I had to wait for my turn and that's absolutely fair enough. The guys before, Virat was before me, so was MS (Dhoni)."

'Yuvraj has been such a match winner for India, he should have been the captain'

"Just look at the names that missed out: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag … these are all stalwarts of Indian cricket. Not to forget Yuvraj Singh. He never captained India. Yuvraj has been such a match winner for India, he should have been the captain at some stage but he didn’t get it. That's life. I got it now and I am grateful for it. I would rather have it when I know how to captain a team, when I know what is required and all. Rather than when I don’t know the ABCD of captaincy. So in that respect, this is good," Hitman added.

Rohit will look to create a legacy by helping India win the upcoming ODI World Cup at home, on November 19. This will be his thirdWorld Cup, and last in all likelihood, hence, he will be desperate to leave on a high.

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