Rohit Sharma Didn’t Want To Retire From T20Is, But “Situation Was…”

India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, announced his retirement from T20I cricket after leading the team to their second World Cup victory in the format. He described it as the perfect moment to “say goodbye.” Rohit made this announcement during a press conference, shortly after his long-time teammate, Virat Kohli, also retired following India’s seven-run win over South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. “This was my last game as well. No better time to say goodbye. I wanted this (trophy) badly. It’s very hard to put in words,” Rohit said at the post-match press conference.

“This is what I wanted, and it happened. I was very desperate for this in my life. Happy that we crossed the line this time,” he added.

The 37-year-old had previously led India in the 2022 T20 World Cup, where the team was eliminated in the semifinals by England, who went on to win the tournament.

A year later, under his leadership, India reached the final of the 50-over World Cup at home but lost to Australia in the final match in Ahmedabad.

Rohit ended his T20I career with 4231 runs from 159 matches, including five centuries and 32 half-centuries. He remains active in Test and ODI formats.

A video circulating on social media shows Rohit explaining to reporters that he hadn’t initially planned to retire from T20I cricket but decided to do so because the situation seemed ideal.

“I didn’t think that I would retire from T20Is, but the situation was such… I thought it was the perfect situation for me. Nothing better than winning the cup and saying goodbye,” Rohit said in the video.

Rohit Sharma: “I was not in the mood to retire from T20I, but the situation has arisen, so I decided to do so.”

Perhaps he is considering building a new team or thought it was the right time to retire on his own terms.

pic.twitter.com/fAbgPIl9fQ — Sitab Chaudhary-Office (@sitab_chaudhary) June 30, 2024

Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20Is, Hardik Pandya is the leading candidate to take over as India’s T20I captain. When Rohit missed T20I matches in 2023, it was Hardik Pandya who led the Indian team in the shortest format.

(With PTI Inputs)