‘Was not at my best’ - Rohit Sharma recalls ‘saddest moment’ of his career

India opening batsman Rohit Sharma is regarded as one of the modern-day greats in limited overs cricket. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to have scored three double hundreds in the ODIs. He has amassed 9,115 runs in 224 ODIs at an average of 49.27 and a strike rate of 88.93. He is an indispensable part of the current ODI team set-up, and is included in the side whenever he is fit to play. But this was not the case nine years ago.

Before the 2011 World Cup, Rohit was going through a poor run, because of which he was dropped from the squad for the tournament. Playing in home conditions, India went on to lift the World Cup trophy in 2011, defeating Sri Lanka in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Rohit’s hometown.

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Speaking in an interview on Instagram Live with England legend Kevin Pietersen, the batsman described it as his saddest moment. “Not getting picked for the 2011 World Cup squad, that was the saddest moment as it was happening in our own backyard, the final was played at my home ground,” he said.

On being asked why he was not selected, Rohit gave an honest reply. “It was due to my performances, I was not at my best.”

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Rohit was the leading run-scorer of the 2019 World Cup, amassing 648 runs at an average of 81 and a strike rate of 98.33. He scored five centuries in the tournament, but was unable to help his side lift the World Cup trophy, as the Virat Kohli-led side crashed out after defeating new Zealand