Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s act of consuming a piece of pitch soil after winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 sparked widespread social media discussion, eliciting various comments from users.
India ended their 11-year ICC trophy drought by defeating South Africa by seven runs at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies, on June 29.
Read more: Virat Kohli Attributes World Cup Victory To Wife Anushka Sharma
Amid speculation surrounding Sharma’s soil-eating celebration, the captain has now provided an explanation for this emotional gesture.
In an interview with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rohit Sharma described his actions as spontaneous and difficult to put into words, driven by a desire to live in the moment.
“I don’t think I can describe that as nothing was scripted. Whatever was coming (out) instinctively I was feeling the moment when I went to the pitch, because that pitch gave us this (victory), we played on that particular pitch and we won the game on that particular ground as well,” he said.
Sharma explained that because the pitch and stadium held immense importance for them, being the venue where they won their World Cup final match, he wanted to have something from it with him.
“I will remember that ground forever in my life and that pitch as well. So, I wanted to have a piece of it with me.
“Yeah, those moments are very very special and the place where all our dreams came true, I wanted something of it.
“So that was the feeling behind it.”
It’s worth noting that tennis star Novak Djokovic has eaten grass from the court multiple times after winning matches.
