‘Aggressive approach unnatural for me but batting depth gives me freedom’, Says Rohit Sharma on CT final knock

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma shut down his critics in convincing style with a brilliant Player of the Match effort, as India defeated New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

The 37-year-old admitted that his unusually bold style of batting during the tournament was made possible due to the depth of batting strength in the team, and the freedom that came with being able to play riskily at the crease.

“It is very nice. We played some good cricket through the tournament. To have the result our way is a great feeling. (Aggressive style) Not natural to me, but something I really wanted to do. When you are doing something different, you have to have the backing of the team and management. I spoke to Rahul bhai earlier and now Gauti bhai as well. It is something I really wanted to do. I have played all these years in a different style, and now we are getting the results with this."

“ We have to understand the nature of the surfaces and I was very clear about how I wanted to execute the first five-six overs. I have gotten out as well earlier, but the execution matters. The depth gives me the freedom and it helps. With Jadeja coming at 8, it gives you the confidence to go hard up front. As long as I am clear in my mind, it is great,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation.

With Rohit Sharma as the captain, this was India's fourth ICC final in a span of less than two years and their second win after the 2024 T20 World Cup. With the victory, India won its third Champions Trophy, having earlier won the trophy in 2002 (shared with Sri Lanka) and 2013.

“I appreciate everyone who came to support us. The crowd has been amazing. Not our home ground but they made it our home ground. Very satisfying win. Right from the beginning our spinners... there was too much expectation but they never disappointed. It helped them and we used that to our advantage. We were very consistent with our bowling,” he added.