"We are trying everything we can, from our perspective to make sure we are ready for the World Cup" - Rohit Sharma on Team India's preparations 

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma has spoken about the importance of consistency when it comes to a high-profile tournament like the ODI World Cup. The Men in Blue are among the favorites to claim the title on home soil, but recent injuries and track record in ICC tournaments are the primary hurdles at the moment.

Rohit and Co. still have the 2023 Asia Cup as well as a home series against Australia to figure out their final squad and team combination. Their World Cup campaign begins with a heavyweight encounter against Australia on October 8 in Chennai. Prior to that, the onus is on the captain-coach duo of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to streamline the preparation and keep the squad ready for the tournament.

Rohit spoke about India's 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cup campaigns, where he witnessed the team crash out in the semi-finals.

"2015 and 2019, I was a part of it, which felt really good to play the World Cup. We went to the semi-finals, tried everything we could to go to the finals and play well in the finals, but again, a very unfortunate incident where we couldn't go through to the finals," he told ICC.

Team India were eliminated by eventual winners Australia in the 2015 campaign, while they came up short against New Zealand in the subsequent edition in England, four years later.

Opining that the World Cup cannot be won in a matter of a couple of days, Rohit added:

"But hopefully, you know, we are back home again, so hopefully we can turn things around and it's still a long way to go. And you know you can't win the World Cup in one or two days. You got to play well for an entire month, month and a half, and be consistent. So you know, we are trying everything we can, from our perspective to make sure we are ready for the World Cup."

Rohit Sharma had a landmark 2019 World Cup campaign which was laden with five centuries. India finished atop the table after the league stage, but their streak of losing in knockout matches continued as they returned empty handed.

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"I decided I was not going to watch the World Cup" - Rohit Sharma reveals disappointment after being snubbed for the 2011 World Cup

The current India skipper was not part of the winning squad at the 2011 ODI World Cup despite having made his international debut four years ago. He had expressed his disappointment of having missed out on the squad through a post on social media, which has since gone viral.

Rohit revealed that he was not going to watch the 2011 World Cup after being snubbed, but had a change of heart and ended up watching the entire winning campaign.

"2011 (World Cup) was a memorable one for all of us, I remember watching it from home, every single match, every single ball which was being bowled and that was being played. There were two kinds of emotions, one was obviously I was not a part of it, so I was a little disappointed. I decided I was not going to watch the World Cup, but again, the second memory I remember was that India was playing so well, the quarter-finals onwards," the skipper recalled.

Reserving praise for Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina for their performances under extreme pressure during the knockout stages of the title-winning campaign, Rohit added:

"You know, the big quarter-final was against Australia. I know how the pressure is on all these players when playing these games. I can only imagine the pressure that each player must have gone through at that time, and then the semi-finals against Pakistan. It was a brilliant finish by Yuvi and Raina at the end."

Team India conquered the likes of Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to win the World Cup under MS Dhoni's captaincy after 28 years.

Their winning streak continued as they claimed the 2013 Champions Trophy in England as well, however, that remains India's last triumph in an ICC tournament.