Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's act of eating a shard of soil from the pitch after winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has taken social media by storm, sparking various comments from netizens.
India ended their 11-year drought of an ICC trophy by defeating South Africa by seven runs at Kensington Oval stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies, on June 29.
Amid speculation about why Sharma consumed the soil while celebrating the victory, the captain provided an explanation for this emotional act.
In an interview with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sharma said it was hard to describe, but he was acting candidly and wanted to savor the moment.
"I don’t think I can describe that as nothing was scripted. Whatever was coming out was instinctive. 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 won the game on that particular ground," he said.
Sharma explained that the pitch and stadium held paramount importance as they won their World Cup final match there, and he wanted to keep a part of 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 special, and the place where all our dreams came true—I wanted something of it.
“So that was the feeling behind it.”
It should be noted that famous tennis player Novak Djokovic has also eaten grass from the court multiple times after winning matches.