New Delhi: The trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20I soon after India defeated South Africa in the final to win the T20 World Cup 2024 title. India ended an 11-year-long ICC trophy drought with a memorable triumph and clinched their second T20 World Cup crown after a wait of 17 years.
Kohli confirmed it was his last T20I for India after delivering a match-winning knock of 76 runs in the final before Rohit followed suit. Jadeja joined the duo in announcing his retirement from the shortest format the next day. The trio called it quits together, leaving many surprised. But was their retirement on the expected lines?
Not as per former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey. Mhambrey revealed no one in the Indian dressing room had expected the trio to announce their retirements together and said that no such discussion took place among the squad. Mhambrey said it came as a surprise to the team management as well.
“I think no one was expecting that (the retirement announcements) If you had any conversation earlier, we would have known this would be coming. But none of them had this conversation. If, individually or privately, they had a conversation with someone like Rahul (Dravid), that’s a different thing, but not amongst the team or other individuals. So that was a little surprising for us as well,” Mhambret was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
While Kohli was part of India’s ODI World Cup-winning side under MS Dhoni in 2011, Rohit Sharma was part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup in 2007. Jadeja had never won a World Cup in his career and tasted his first major success in the Caribbean last month. The trio bid farewell to the T20Is on a high after winning the most coveted trophy in the shortest format.
Rohit, Kohli retired as T20 trailblazers
Both Rohit and Kohli signed off as the top two run-getters in T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit is the leading run-getter of all time in T20Is with 4231 runs in 159 matches at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of over 140, Kohli is in the second spot with 4188 runs from 125 matches at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of over 137.
The duo will be seen in action for India next in their upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. Rohit and Kohli were expected to be rested for the series but they made themselves available on the request of new head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey reavealed none of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or Ravindra Jadeja held any conversations regarding their retirement in the Indian dressing room. Mhambrey said they were not expecting the trio to retire after India beat South Africa in the final to win the T20 World Cup 2024 title. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
