Team India’s Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma recently spoke about how he accepts outside opinions and criticism about his performance on the field. Rohit Sharma emphasized that he is focusing on his responsibilities within the team rather than getting distracted by outside opinions.

Rohit Sharma showed brilliance with five IPL titles for Mumbai Indians (MI). He transitioned to captain of the Indian team, which introduced new challenges and scrutiny. Sharma is focused on leading his team to success while managing the high expectations of fans and critics alike.

The opener guided the team to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup last year. However, the Indian team lost to Australia in the final. Sharma ended India’s 11-year trophy drought by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States in June.

India clinched their second T20 World Cup after defeating South Africa in a thrilling final in Barbados. After the win, Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20 internationals. Rohit was part of MS Dhoni’s team that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.

I have to focus on that – Rohit Sharma

Speaking on Jitendra Chouksey’s podcast, Rohit Sharma emphasized the importance of focusing on your responsibilities within the team rather than getting distracted by external criticism. He added that outside opinions would not help and that players should focus on improving their game.

The 37-year-old said he learned to trust himself through his experiences. The Indian captain said he encourages players to ignore distractions and focus on their performance to help the team.

“There is a certain job that the team expects from me and I have to focus on that instead of thinking about what XYZ is talking about me,” Rohit said.

“I learned this much later, like I said, through the experiences I’ve had, the frustration I’ve gone through, who are you to tell me how to play and all that, what are you doing? It doesn’t make sense to think like that and wasting time because that’s not going to help your game and it’s not going to help the team, so there’s no point in thinking about it, about how you can improve.”

Rohit Sharma is currently leading the Indian team in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. After this series, the Men in Blue will play a three-match Test series against New Zealand at home. India will then travel to Australia for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

Next year, Rohit could captain India in two major ICC tournaments. The Indian national cricket team will play in the Champions Trophy 2025. India is currently leading the World Test Championship table. If they maintain their position, they would secure India’s place in a third consecutive final.

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