File photo of Rohit Sharma.© AFP
Indian captain Rohit Sharma called time on his T20I career after leading the team to its second World Cup win in the format and called it the “right time to say goodbye”. Rohit made the announcement in a press conference just minutes after his long-time partner Virat Kohli called time on his illustrious career after India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados. “This was my last match as well. There couldn't be a better time to say goodbye. I wanted this (trophy) so much. It's very difficult to put it into words,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference.
He said, “This is what I wanted and it happened. I was desperate for this in my life. I am happy that this time we were able to achieve this goal.”
The 37-year-old had led India in the 2022 T20 World Cup, where the team lost to eventual champions England in the semi-finals.
A year later, India reached the final of the 50-over World Cup at home under his leadership but lost to Australia in the final in Ahmedabad.
Rohit has retired from T20 international cricket and has scored 4231 runs in 159 matches, including five centuries and 32 half-centuries. He is active in Test and ODI formats.
A video of the player has gone viral on social media, in which he is seen telling reporters that he had not initially planned to quit T20 cricket but took the decision considering the ideal situation.
“I didn't think I would retire from T20 but the situation was like this… I felt it was the perfect situation for me. There couldn't be anything better than saying goodbye by winning the cup,” Rohit said in the video.
After Rohit Sharma retired from the T20 format, Hardik Pandya is the frontrunner to take over India's captaincy role in T20Is. When Rohit missed the T20Is in 2023, Hardik Pandya led the Indian team in the shortest format.
(With PTI inputs)
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