"Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon had different plans" - Team India star recalls anxious moment from BGT 2018-19 amid IPL 2025
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma recalled an anxious moment involving the birth of his first child during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The 37-year-old had planned to travel back home to India for the birth of his daughter after the third Test in Melbourne.
With the series tied at 1-1, India had Australia on the ropes at the latter stages of Day four at 215/8. However, they could not finish the deal on the penultimate day as Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon held on for almost 15 overs.
Unfortunately for Rohit, he missed the birth of his child on December 30 as the match went to the final day on the same date.
Recalling the turn of events on former Australian captain Michael Clarke's 'Beyond23 Cricket Podcast' amid the ongoing IPL 2025, Rohit said [1:00]:
"I was not at home for the birth of my daughter. In 2018, I had to miss a Test match to fly back home, but I was a day late. My wife had already delivered because we were in the middle of a Test match – the Boxing Day Test. I’ll tell you the story – Day 4 Tea time, Australia seven down, I am looking at my phone and saying ‘Yes! I can make this flight’. But Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon had different plans. They played the whole evening so we had to come the next morning to get them out. And the flight was only in the evening, so I missed the flight."
Rohit, however, was present for the birth of his second child, a boy, in November 2024. He missed the first Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be with his family and thanked the BCCI for relieving him of any pressure.
"This time we finished the Tests against New Zealand and I requested the BCCI that I just want to stay home. Without even a second thought, the BCCI said take your time. There was no pressure for me to come to Australia. It was just my call whenever I wanted to come. Australia is a place you don’t want to miss playing cricket. We all love coming to Australia to play cricket," Rohit added.
Despite missing the birth of his first child, Rohit played a massive role in India's famous win in the Melbourne Test in 2018, scoring 63 in the first innings.
"We wanted to bounce back" - Rohit Sharma on India's 2025 Champions Trophy triumph
Rohit Sharma spoke about the Indian players' drive to win the 2025 Champions Trophy after the back-to-back Test series losses to New Zealand and Australia. The Men in Blue went on an unbeaten run in the tournament, culminating with a final win against the Kiwis.
The triumph was India's second consecutive in an ICC event after their dominant 2024 T20 World Cup victory.
"We had to go through so many lows before the tournament. We didn’t have a great series against New Zealand and Australia. So, we wanted to bounce back. Just that playing with this bunch of guys who are so clear in their mind made it special. We tried to keep a similar squad of what we had in the 2023 World Cup because I thought we played really good," said Rohit (Via afromentioned source) [3:42].
Rohit was the Player of the Match in the final, scoring a brilliant 83-ball 76 to help India chase down 252 against New Zealand.