In a candid revelation, former India captain Rohit Sharma disclosed that he seriously considered retirement following India’s heartbreaking loss to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, admitting that he "felt that the sport had taken everything out of me."

Under Rohit’s leadership, India had enjoyed a dream run at the tournament on home soil, entering the final with nine consecutive wins. However, Australia dashed those hopes, with Travis Head delivering a match-winning hundred.

"After 2023 World Cup final, I was completely distraught and felt like I didn't want to play this sport anymore because it had taken everything out of me and I felt I had nothing left," Rohit said during a Masters Union event in Gurugram on Sunday.

He added, "It took some time and I kept reminding myself that this is something I truly love, that it was right in front of me, and I couldn't let it go so easy. Slowly, I found my way back, regaining the energy and getting myself moving again on the field.

"Everybody was extremely disappointed, and we just couldn't believe what had happened. It was a very tough time for me personally because I had put everything into that World Cup not just two or three months before it, but ever since I took over the captaincy in 2022."

Although Rohit has retired from T20Is and Tests and was removed from ODI captaincy earlier this year, he continues to play in the 50-over format and hopes to conclude his career with a final attempt at the 2027 World Cup.

"My only goal was to win the World Cup, whether it was the T20 World Cup or the 2023 World Cup. So when it didn't happen, I was completely devastated. There was no energy left in my body. It took me a couple of months to recover and bring myself back," he said.

Less than a year after the defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad, Rohit led India to the T20 World Cup title in the Americas. Yet, he admitted that overcoming the pain of the November 2023 loss had been extremely difficult.

"I guess when you invest so much into something and don't achieve the result, it's a very natural reaction. That's exactly what happened with me. But I also knew that life doesn't end there.

"It was a big lesson for me how to deal with disappointment, reset, and start fresh. I knew that something else was coming—the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies—and I had to shift all my focus towards that.

"It's very easy to say this now, but at that moment, it was extremely difficult," Rohit concluded.