'Rohit and Virat were not able to control their tears after we lost in World Cup final'; things did not happen as we expected, says R Ashwin

CHENNAI: Indian player Ravichandran Ashwin opened up about the scenes in the Indian dressing room after the team lost to Australia in the ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad. Ashwin said that senior players such as captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli broke down in tears as they were not able to bear the defeat in the final. Ashwin revealed during his conversation with former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath on the latter's YouTube channel.

"Yes, we felt the pain. Rohit and Virat were crying. Seeing that it felt bad. Anyways, not meant to be. This team was an experienced team. Everybody knew what to do. And then, it was professional. Everybody knew their routines, and warm-ups. I think two natural leaders gave the team the space to do these two and created a vibe," said Ashwin.

The veteran spinner also lauded skipper Rohit Sharma's leadership skills throughout the tournament. The all-rounder said that Rohit is an outstanding person with a great understanding of everyone.

"If you look at Indian cricket, everybody will tell you MS Dhoni is one of the best captains. Rohit Sharma is an outstanding person. He understands every single person in the team, he knows what each one of us likes and dislikes. He has a great understanding. He puts in the effort to know each member personally," said Ashwin.

Ashwin said that Rohit often ignored his sleep to become a part of team meetings.

"He puts in a lot of effort. Forgoes sleep and becomes part of meetings, he first puts in the effort. He takes an effort to understand how to explain tactics to each person. That's an advanced level of leadership in Indian cricket," said Ashwin.

The spin-bowling all-rounder hailed Rohit for "walking the talk" with the bat.

"And also, walking the talk. Telling everyone to play a brand of cricket is one thing, but doing it and showing it on the field is another thing. I have known Rohit for a long time. What he did at the top set the ball rolling. he gave us the confidence. He said 'it is okay if we get out for 150. At least we will set the tone, instill fear'. I think all 11 in the team had a great World Cup," concluded Ashwin.