Rohit Sharma credits Rahul Dravid for India’s Champions Trophy 2025 win

India captain Rohit Sharma has credited former head coach Rahul Dravid’s long-term vision and leadership approach for India’s success in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Speaking at the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards, Sharma emphasized that the team’s victory was the result of a process set in motion during Dravid’s tenure and sustained by collective commitment.

Foundation laid by Dravid

Reflecting on India’s journey, Rohit said,

“Look, I love that team. Loved playing with them. It’s a journey we were all a part of for many years. It’s not about one or two years of work — it was years in the making.”

After India’s heartbreak in the 2023 ODI World Cup final at home, the team bounced back with consecutive ICC successes under Rohit’s captaincy: the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. Rohit highlighted that achieving this required buy-in from every player and a commitment to the team’s unified vision.

Continuity between tournaments

Although Gautam Gambhir was head coach during the Champions Trophy, Rohit credited the core mindset to Dravid. He explained how the players embraced consistency, discipline, and focus in each game:

“All the players who were part of the Champions Trophy got into that mindset — how to win games, how to challenge ourselves, how not to take anything for granted. We focused on bringing those qualities into every game.”

Rohit noted that continuity between ICC tournaments helped India maintain intensity and avoid complacency. The principles instilled by Dravid during the 2024 T20 World Cup carried over to the Champions Trophy campaign, ensuring a smooth transition under Gambhir.

Rohit on Dravid and Gambhir

“That consistency in thought and execution helped both me and Rahul bhai during the 2024 T20 World Cup and again during the Champions Trophy. Although we didn’t cross the line in the 2023 final, the team had already committed to a new way of working. Everyone stuck to that.”

While Dravid stepped down after the T20 World Cup in 2024, Sharma stressed that the framework he built was instrumental in guiding the team to ICC glory.