With ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 just around the corner, India captain Rohit Sharma doesn’t want the script of 2019 to get repeated in this edition. In a conversation with journalist Vimal Kumar, Sharma provided hints of moving on from individual milestones highlighting how they had failed to triumph as a team four years ago.
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As an opening batter, the last World Cup was a blockbuster one for Sharma. He became the first-ever batter in the history of the tournament to have scored five hundreds in one edition. Even after knowing how he played in 2019, he is not bothered about experiencing the euphoria of thumping multiple centuries in one World Cup.
For those who don’t understand the gravitas of Sharma’s milestone in what was only his second World Cup, one more innings could have allowed him to break Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of most runs in a single World Cup. While Tendulkar had scored 673 runs across 11 innings at an average of 61.18 in 2003, Sharma’s 648 runs across nine innings had come at 81.
Rohit Sharma Doesn’t Want To Score 5 Centuries In 2023 World Cup
While interacting with Vimal Kumar, Sharma, by no means, meant that he did not want to score runs in a home World Cup beginning from October 5. It’s just that he doesn’t want the personal glory of players to dominate the Indian campaign.
The 36-year-old player will be leading in his first-ever 50-over World Cup. Furthermore, it could well be his last one as a player as well. Hence, it isn’t surprising as to why Sharma has made his priorities clear with respect to lifting the silverware in Ahmedabad on November 19. Sharma’s dejected face after losing the 2019 World Cup is still fresh in Indian fans’ hearts and minds.
“I will try to perform well and be in a good frame of mind because that is what had happened in 2019 World Cup. I don’t care if I score one or two hundreds or not a single at all, I want to win the World Cup. It doesn’t matter who scored how many hundreds, World Cup trophy matter. If you can’t win that, it will be a disappointment.”
Rohit Sharma Is On The Verge Of Breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s Record
Having scored three international centuries across formats in 2023, another one during the World Cup will power Sharma to outperform Tendulkar in the list of most ODI World Cup centuries.
For those uninitiated, both of them are tied at the top position with six centuries so far. The fact that Sharma has played 27 innings less than Tendulkar speaks volumes about his domination at the biggest stage. With a minimum of nine innings available, the Hitman should be backing himself to achieve a world record.
| S No. | Player | Span | Centuries |
| 1 | Sachin Tendular (India) | 1992-2011 | 6 |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma (India) | 2015-present | 6 |
| 3 | Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) | 2003-2015 | 5 |
| 4 | Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 1996-2011 | 5 |
| 5 | David Warner (Australia) | 2015-present | 4 |
| 6 | Sourav Ganguly (India) | 1999-2007 | 4 |
| 7 | AB de Villiers (Sri Lanka) | 2017-2015 | 4 |
| 8 | Mark Waugh (Australia) | 1992-1999 | 4 |
| 9 | Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) | 2007-2015 | 4 |
| 10 | Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) | 1999-2015 | 4 |
Apart from Sharma, wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul and former captain Virat Kohli are the only two Indian batters part of the squad to have also scored a World Cup century in the past. While Kohli has smashed a couple of them, whereas Rahul has scored only one. As senior players, it is needless to say that both of them would be wanting to add more to their tally in the forthcoming world event.
