MUMBAI: Hailing the India men’s team for winning the 2026 T20 World Cup and the Women’s team too for clinching their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title last year, former India captain Rohit Sharma has expressed hope that “there is looking back from here,” and both the sides “carry this momentum forward.” “I am very happy and very proud to see what we have been seeing for the last couple of years now. To come out with flying colours and achieve what we have achieved, not just the men’s team but also the women’s team winning that World Cup in (Navi) Mumbai was fantastic to watch. Recently, the men’s team, what they did was phenomenal. I hope this is just the start, there is no looking back from here because once you get that momentum… we often talk about momentum and now both the men’s and women’s teams have that momentum. All I hope is that we carry this momentum forward,” Rohit said at the launch of the new season of T20 Mumbai League and the announcement of the three-team T20 Mumbai Women’s League on Saturday.
Led by Rohit Sharma and then Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian men’s teams clinched back-to-back T20 World Cup titles in 2024 and then on March 8, 2026 in Ahmedabad, crushing New Zealand by 96 runs in the final. Meanwhile, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women’s team beat South Africa by 52 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to clinch the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup on No 3 last year. The modern-day great credited the “people behind the scenes” as well for the success of the Indian men’s and women’s teams. “There is no secret to success, it’s all about hard work. The men’s and women’s team have worked really hard to achieve what they have achieved today. Of course, it’s not just about the players who perform on the field, there are so many people behind the scene who have put in so much hard work into that success so that the team can have success. A lot of people and personnel to give thanks to,” said the 38-year-old. Rohit’s advice to players in the T20 Mumbai league was simple: ‘Grab your opportunity.’ “You never know what’s going to happen so whenever the opportunity arises you should be ready for the challenges. I still believe in the process to prepare really well and be ready for the opportunity,” said the ‘Hitman’.Asked on whether Mumbai’s cricketers had an edge over their counterparts due to the struggles they went through while growing up as cricketers, Rohit disagreed with the thought. “I don’t believe in this edge. When players are picked in the national team there is a reason why they’ve been picked. We have seen there is so much competition in our country when we talk about cricket. Right from U-14s you got to be lucky; of course, you need the talent to find success but you also got to be lucky to be at the right time at the right place for people to notice you. Sometimes you can be as talented as you can be but if people are not watching you, then you can be slightly unlucky. You’ve got to be lucky as well, but there is no substitute to hard work and that is not just with the Mumbaikars but also with the players who are representing the country,” said the opening great. Also present was India women’s team pacer Sayali Satghere, Mumbai Cricket Association president Ajinkya Naik, ex-president Ashish Shelar and the entire MCA apex council. Rohit expressed his happiness “with the way Mumbai cricket is shaping up.” “They are going through this tough grind to find success. But (I am) very happy with the way Mumbai cricket is shaping up, also with what T20 Mumbai has done. A lot of young cricketers we saw who played this T20 Mumbai have gone on to play the IPL team and of course the national team as well so it is a big, big platform. I am sure the guys who are going to play will understand that this format is wonderful and I am happy that we are doing this again after a successful last season,” he said. Rohit gave credit to the MCA for conducting the revived T20 Mumbai League despite the monsoon having just started. “It was a tough task right after the IPL got over, and the monsoon had just started. I got to give credit to each and every member of the MCA to pull that through, making three games in a day happen is not easy and also a big, big round of applause to all the groundsmen as well who put their hands up and got the grounds ready, which is why I said there is no substitute to hard work. With three new teams added, it’s getting bigger,” Rohit said.
