Not Gambhir! Rohit Sharma credits Rahul Dravid for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 success

Former Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma has credited the former Team India head coach Rahul Dravid for the team’s successful campaign at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, defeating New Zealand in the grand finale to lift the title in the United Arab Emirates.

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While Team India suffered a loss in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, they made a strong comeback in the next two ICC events - ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - winning titles in both campaigns. 

"Look, I love that team, loved playing with them and it's a journey that we were all into, for many years. It's not about one year or two years of work. It was about getting into work from many years," Rohit said during the CEAT Cricket Rating awards.

"We'd come so close of winning that trophy many times but we couldn't just get over the line. That is where everyone decided that we need to do something different and there's two (ways) to look at it,” he added.

Furthermore, Rohit also revealed the thought process behind Team India’s victories at the two major ICC mega events, which they went on to successfully win in Barbados and the United Arab Emirates.

"There's always a thought of doing that and then actually going and doing that. It cannot be done by one or two players. We needed everyone to buy into that thought, which was good from everyone," Rohit noted.

"All the guys who took part in that competition (Champions Trophy) got into that thought process of how to win games and how to challenge ourselves and not be complacent and not to take anything for granted," he said.

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"Those were the qualities that we tried to bring in and we thought it was a good method of just going and doing that repeatedly. Everyone enjoyed that process. Once we got over the line when we won the first game, we completely put that game aside and then started focusing on the next one,” he observed.

"That was really good from the team and that is something that helped me and Rahul bhai when we were planning for the (2024) T20 World Cup, and then on to the Champions Trophy. We just carried it well,” he concluded.

Notably, Rohit Sharma will be next seen on the field in the three-match ODI series against Australia Down Under, starting on October 19 in Perth. Interestingly, Rohit has been removed as the ODI captain with Shubman Gill replacing him.

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