Virat Kohli (left) and Rohit Sharma after India's Champions Trophy triumph in Dubai. (BCCI | X)Minutes after India won the Champions Trophy and they played ‘dandiya’ with uprooted stumps, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli found themselves facing a gaggle of photographers. As they broke away, Rohit wisecracked, ‘bhai, hum koi retire nahi ho rahe,” and after a couple of trademark expletives, Rohit said to a laughing Kohli, “inko toh lag raha hai…” The ‘we aren’t going to retire’ couldn’t have been said in a more nonchalantly emphatic manner. Even as Rohit and Kohli were swaggering with smiles around the ground, the coach Gautam Gambhir unfurled a Hindi sher in a television chat with Navjot Singh Sidhu: “Fleeing the jungle for fear of the snake is not an option/ Learn the art of trampling the snake’s hood.” The moment was the perfect frame to capture India’s victorious campaign in the desert city.
There has been criticism about the way the tournament was loaded towards India, and even about its importance. That the Champions Trophy doesn’t have the gravitas of an ODI world cup nor can match the popularity of a T20 world cup; in fact it was disbanded eight years ago for those very reasons. The conditions in Dubai were decidedly in favour of India; all other teams had to keep crisscrossing to Pakistan, and the competitive strengths of most other teams were markedly average. But it misses the point of this triumph.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma, third left, and teammates celebrate with the winners trophy on the podium after defeating New Zealand in the final cricket match of the ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Christopher Pike)
It’s not about the importance of the tournament, but its importance to this Indian team. Under a new coach, they were mauled at home in a Test series by New Zealand, and couldn’t retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia despite Jasprit Bumrah’s dazzling brilliance. The captain’s age, fitness, and form was under fire; Kohli’s hunger for runs were questioned, the coach Gautam Gambhir’s acumen and his choice of personnel was trolled, selectors’ visions were ridiculed, and the passion and commitment of the youngsters were mocked.
The present and the future of this team was under threat. The Indian team needed this victory not for bragging rights but for their sustenance. That mood overflowed in the dressing room as the Indian team celebrated for more than an hour inside what has been their sanctum for the last three exciting weeks.
The celebrations then moved on to the team hotel, where they were given a rousing reception before they reassembled for an official party. It wasn’t as big as the one at Barbados last year when they won the T20 World Cup, but the celebrations went into the wee hours of Monday morning.
India’s Virat Kohli, right, and captain Rohit Sharma celebrate with the winners trophy on the podium after defeating New Zealand in the final cricket match of the ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday. (AP)
In Australia, as reported by this newspaper, they had appeared a disjointed unit but as they say, nothing brings the team together like victories and these five well-earned ones against varied opponents who offered different challenges must have tasted sweetly-satisfying. They had buried the ghosts of Ahmedabad in Barbados, but this one in Dubai coming in the 50-over format would remain special for this lot of players.
Rohit encapsulated the mood after triumph: “There is a lot of hunger, even for the guys who have played a lot of cricket. It rubs down to younger players. If they see some of their other senior members showing that hunger … it shows this is how we want to play our cricket,” Rohit said.
Kohli also spoke about the necessity to leave the team in a strong place. “We wanted to bounce back after a tough Australia tour, and we wanted to win a big tournament. So much talent in the changeroom, they’re taking Indian cricket forward in the right direction,” Kohli said with Gill by his side. “We’re happy to share our experience but these guys are stepping up in a massive way and that’s why we’re such a strong team.”
India captain Rohit Sharma and teammates celebrate with the winners trophy on the podium after defeating New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. (AP Photo)
Gill talked about how Kohli has inspired him. “Watching him (Kohli) on the TV and now seeing the intensity with which he plays is just phenomenal. It tells us what the game is all about. That’s the only thing that he talks about even off the field as well,” Gill said.
After winning the T20 World Cup, Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja sidestepped, passing the baton to the youngsters. In Tests, there is definitely some new direction needed. Now what this win does to the future of the ODI side only time will tell. If anything, the desire to lift the ODI World Cup has flowered again in the desert city.
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