India’s batting stalwarts in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli called time on their T20I career after India’s win against South Africa in the Final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados.
Rohit and Virat have been the backbone of the Indian team for many years, leading the team to numerous accolades and titles. They even came close to clinching the ODI World Cup 2023 under Rohit’s captaincy but were defied by the Australian team.
BET NOW: Exclusive sign-up offers and bonuses when you bet on cricket action
Nevertheless, they were finally rewarded for their efforts in the T20 World Cup, ending India’s agonizing wait for ICC success since the Champions Trophy win in England in 2013.
The two senior players will be back in action for the Men in Blue against Sri Lanka in the upcoming ODI series, however, the captain in the press conference a day before the game claimed that it still doesn’t feel that he has retired from the shortest format, terming it more of a rest period.
READ MORE: Are Shubman and Yashasvi the new age Sachin-Sourav? Former cricketer draws comparison
What did Rohit Sharma say about his retirement from T20I cricket?
Rohit has stated that he can’t believe that his T20I career has come to a close, and it rather feels like a rest period and once a big tournament is around, he will be back on the field wearing the blue outfit.
I think I have been rested from the T20Is, like in the past and there will be a big tournament coming up and we will have to get ready for the T20s again.
Rohit’s T20I career is simply terrific. The 37-year-old has scored over 3000 runs in the format and is the player with most T20I centuries in the world. He’s also the second-highest top-scorer for India in T20 World Cup after Virat.
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | SR | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 159 | 151 | 4231 | 32.09 | 140.89 | 121* |
READ MORE: Dhoni recalls 'hearbreak' moment in India's 2019 World Cup defeat
India’s squad for the ODI series vs Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.