"That's what happened after 2023 WC" - Rohit Sharma warns teammates, urges them to move on from T20 World Cup win

Captain Rohit Sharma has warned his teammates not to rest on their past laurels and focus on the challenge ahead. The veteran batsman has said it is high time that the team moves on from the victory in the T20 World Cup last month and starts its preparations for the upcoming assignments.

India ended their 11-year wait for an ICC trophy by winning the T20 World Cup in June. The Men in Blue had not won the T20 World Cup since 2007 while their last victory in an ICC competition had come in 2013. They finally ended their long wait by winning the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.

The victory was followed by a grand celebration in the country. And Rohit Sharma now believes that the team should move on and focus on the challenges lying ahead. Speaking to the media ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma started by saying that he enjoyed his time off the game and also said that he enjoyed the celebration in Mumbai and Delhi. He further said that the team now needs to move on instead of dwelling on the past.

"I had a good time off from cricket. It was a great feeling to come back home after winning the World Cup ... what we experienced in Delhi and Mumbai. But yeah, now we have to move on, cricket moves on," said Rohit, as quoted by PTI.

"Whatever we have done in the past, that was good for that particular period of time, but time keeps moving forward and we also need to keep moving forward," he added.

We have to think about what lies ahead: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma said that Team India had employed a similar strategy after the heartbreaking loss against Australia in the ODI World Cup final last year. Rohit said that although the team was very disappointed over the loss, it had no option but to move on. He also quickly mentioned that the Champions Trophy is coming and Team India needs to prepare for it.

"That's what happened after the 2023 World Cup. There was a lot of disappointment, but we had to move on and look forward to this World Cup.

"Now, that the T20 World Cup is over, we have to think about what lies ahead of us as a team. Yeah, there is plenty to look forward to, a big tournament coming up," he added.

Meanwhile, the upcoming ODI series will be India's first ODI assignment of the year. India have not played any ODI match since the series against South Africa in December last year. On the other hand, Rohit has not played an ODI since the World Cup final in November.