At 21 He Won The World Cup | Robin Uthappa | Mitesh Khatri

20 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, cricketer Robin Uthappa recounts his earliest conscious memory of playing cricket and a deep, instinctive conviction that he would represent India and win a World Cup. He describes how, from age seven, he practiced with a makeshift hanging ball, visualizing himself batting, building partnerships, and saving matches for India. He emphasizes that this purpose never wavered, noting a clear internal knowing of his future. Uthappa outlines his career milestones: debuting in first‑class cricket at 16, playing for the Indian national team at 20, and winning the World Cup at 21, underscoring his belief in destiny and relentless focus.

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My first memory of myself, Mitesh, is of me playing cricket. As a human being, my first conscious memory of myself is me playing cricket. I knew, like, it was like I knew in my bones that मैं इंडिया के लिए खेलने वाला हूँ। But I was like, I don't want to just play for India. I want to, I know, I want to win a World Cup for India. And I'll not just be a part of the team, I'll be a contributing member to a World Cup team. From the age of, say, 7 is when I started playing cricket. And I played the hanging ball. So my father put a ball on a sock or on a rope and then we tied it down and knock. My whole knocking and playing the hanging ball was about me batting and me playing matches for India, me winning matches. And when I realized my purpose, even my visualization changed towards, you know, building partnerships, you know, scoring runs, saving the team, winning the World Cup, you know. And it was like all of that stuff. At no point, at no point did I doubt कि कब होगा, कैसे होगा? I just it was a knowing in my bones. At 16, I played first-class cricket. At 20, I played for India. At 21, I won the World Cup.