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Victory Beyond Sport: Former India Captain Wanted Rohit Sharma To Lift Champions Trophy In Lahore
Follow UsIndia played all their matches, including the semi-final and the final in Dubai, although the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was hosted by Pakistan
Former India captain Ajay Jadeja said that he wished that Rohit Sharma, the current skipper, would have lifted the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore as it would have been a symbol of victory beyond sport.
“I was just wishing that if India had won this in Lahore, it would’ve been even better. It would’ve been a victory beyond just the sport,” Jadeja said on a sports show called Dressing Room, after India beat New Zealand in the final by four wickets to lift the cup in Dubai, although Pakistan were the hosts of the event.
India played all their matches, including the semi-final and the final, in Dubai, although Pakistan hosted the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. This was because the ICC introduced a rule allowing India and Pakistan to play their matches at neutral venues in ICC events hosted by the two teams.
Jadeja, who captained India in 13 ODIs, said that he was very happy with the way fans treated the players who came to Pakistan.
“Shoutout to the fans as well, because every player that I’ve talked to who’s been there enjoyed being there. The people of Pakistan have also come out in numbers. Their team didn’t do as well as they would’ve liked, but they’ve still kept that thing, and it’s been a happy moment and a great tournament,” he added.
Wasim Akram, who was also present on the show, said that the BCCI backed up the idea that despite putting in dismal performances in the Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka, the same group of leaders continued in the team and did wonders by lifting the Champions Trophy for a record third time.
“If you remember, they lost to New Zealand 3-0 in a Test series at home, lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy and lost the series in Sri Lanka, so they were under pressure to remove the captain, the coach… but sanity prevailed. The BCCI backed them, said this is our captain, this is our coach, and now they are the champions of the champions,” said the Pakistan swing king.
