Bhubaneswar: India captain Rohit Sharma announced retirement from T20 international cricket after winning his first ICC title as captain against South Africa.
He confirmed his decision to step away from the format during the post-match press conference at Kensington Oval after Virat Kohli’s 59-ball-76 and Hardik Pandya’s three crucial wickets took India to their historic second T20 World Cup title.
“This was my last game as well. No better time to say goodbye. I started my India career playing this format. I wanted this (trophy) badly. It’s very hard to put in words. This what I wanted and it happened. I was very desperate for this in my life. Happy that we crossed the line this time,” he told reporters.
The decision marked a fitting end to Rohit’s T20I career, as he began it with a World Cup win and concluded it with another.
Reacting to his retirement, Team India Head Coach Rahul Dravid said, ” …I will miss him as a person…what impresses me is the kind of person he is, the respect he has shown me, the kind of care and commitment he had for the team, the kind of energy he had to spent and he never backed down. For me, it will be the person I will miss the most…”
Rohit’s announcement came shortly after his teammate Virat also announced his retirement from T20 cricket.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Retires From T20 Internationals On A High
The two batting stalwarts retire as the leading run-scorers in T20I — Rohit occupying the top spot with 4231 runs from 159 matches at an average of 32.05 followed closely by Kohli with 4,188 runs (average 48.69; strike rate: 137.04).
Notably, India ended their 11-year wait for a World Cup by pulling off a sensational seven-run win against South Africa by holding their nerve at the end of a nail-biting final on Saturday. It was a much-needed redemption after the heartbreak in Ahmedabad where team had succumbed to Australia in the summit clash of 50-over World Cup last year.
Under Rohit, India became the first team to win the T20 World Cup without losing a single game. The 37-year-old is also the first-ever captain to lead a team to 50 T20I games.
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