I hope Indian men’s and women’s teams carry momentum: Rohit Sharma

“I am very happy and very proud to see what we have been seeing for the last couple of years now,” Rohit, the face of the T20 Mumbai League, said during the announcement of the fourth edition for men and inaugural iteration for women here.

“To come out with flying colours and achieve what we have achieved, not just the men’s team but also the women’s team winning that World Cup in (Navi) Mumbai was fantastic to watch,” he added.

The Mumbai man hoped that more global titles are on India’s way.

“Recently, the men’s team, what they did was phenomenal. I hope this is just the start, there is no looking back from here because once you get that momentum… we often talk about momentum and now both the men’s and women’s teams have that momentum. All I hope is that we carry this momentum forward,” Rohit said.

The former India skipper also doffed his hat to the people who work “behind the scenes” to make the success possible.

“There is no secret to success, it’s all about hard work. The men’s and women’s team have worked really hard to achieve what they have achieved today,” he said.

“Of course, it’s not just about the players who perform on the field, there are so many people behind the scene who have put in so much of hard work into that success so that the team can have success. A lot of people and personnel to give thanks to,” Rohit added.

The 38-year-old said apart from putting in the hard yards, a player growing up also needs luck on his side to be at the right place in right time.

“When players are picked in the national team there is a reason why they’ve been picked. We have seen there is so much competition in our country when we talk about cricket. Right from U-14s you got to be lucky; of course you need the talent to find success but you also got to be lucky to be at the right time at the right place for people to notice you.

“Sometimes you can be as talented as you can be but if people are not watching you, then you can be slightly unlucky. You got to lucky as well but there is no substitute to hard work and that is not just with the Mumbaikars but also with the players who are representing the country,” he said.

T20 Mumbai had returned after a short hiatus last year for a third edition and the eight-team men’s league will also have a three-team women’s competition taking place concurrently this season.

“It was a tough task right after the IPL got over and monsoon had just started. I got to give credit to each and every member of the MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association) to pull that through, making three games in a day happen is not easy.

“Also a big, big round of applause to all the groundsmen as well who put their hands up and got the grounds ready, which is why I said there is no substitute to hard work. With three new (women’s) teams added, it’s getting bigger,” he said.