NEW DELHI: In a stunning revelation, former India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday said he contemplated retirement after the heartbreaking loss to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final as he "felt that the sport had taken everything out of me."

Under the captaincy of Rohit, the Indian team enjoyed a dream run in that tournament at home and marched into the final with nine consecutive wins.

However, Australia dashed their hopes in the game that mattered the most, with Travis Head scoring a match-winning hundred.

"After 2023 World Cup final, I was completed distraught and felt like I didn't want to play this sport anymore because it had taken everything out of me and I felt I had nothing left," Rohit said during a Masters Union event.

"It took some time and I kept reminding myself that this is something I truly love, that it was right in front of me, and I couldn't let it go so easy.

Slowly, I found my way back, regaining the energy and getting myself moving again on the field."

"Everybody was extremely disappointed, and we just couldn't believe what had happened.

It was a very tough time for me personally because I had put everything into that World Cup not just two or three months before it, but ever since I took over the captaincy in 2022," he added.