‘I want to hold the 2027 World Cup in my hand’: Rohit Sharma’s wish after Rishabh Pant carefully removes eyelash decoded
Abhishek Nayar figured what Rohit Sharma's wish after Rishabh Pant took out his eyelash could have meant.
Everything Rohit Sharma has done in the last few months – lose weight, score runs and agree to play domestic cricket – boils down to one thing. The desire to play the 2027 World Cup and hold the only ICC trophy he has yet to win. At 38, Rohit, who has retired from T20Is and Tests, is channelling all his energy and motivation into winning the next 50-overs World Cup. He came agonisingly close in 2023, where India, despite winning 10 games in a row, lost to Australia in the final. Two years later, the pain still lingers, despite Rohit having since guided India to a T20 World Cup victory and a Champions Trophy win. The World Cup is 22 months away, but Rohit is not leaving anything up to chance.
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An interesting incident took place during the 2nd ODI between India and Australia in Raipur, involving Rohit. In between one of the overs, Rohit was standing in the dugout when Rishabh Pant, next to him, noticed how one of his eyelashes had gotten loose. Pant carefully removed it from Rohit’s eyes, handed it to Rohit and asked him to make a wish. It’s a familiar ritual for most Indians – any 90’s kid would vouch for it. You make a wish, blow the eyelash away, and hope it comes true. Rohit clearly believes in the tradition, because he immediately did what Pant asked him to.
Watch the moment between Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma:
Rohit's road to redemption
Considering the glittering career Rohit has had, his close friend Abhishek Nayar was certain the wish could only mean two things. “I’d said this on a show once that he really has just two wishes,” Nayar recalled. “One is obviously, ‘I want to hold the 2027 World Cup in my hands,’ and the other, in the more immediate future, is his desire to score a century in the next match.”
Rohit has made quite the comeback since the Australia ODIs. In the five innings he has batted, Rohit has registered scores of 73, 121 not out and 57 –proof that all his hard work in the gym and nets is indeed paying off. Rohit is also likely to turn up for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the confirmation could be made official in a few days. India will play just three more ODIs after the series decider against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, before embarking on a long break from the 50-overs format. Their next ODI assignment after January is directly in July, when they travel to England to play three ODIs.
