T20 World Cup 2024: No better time to say goodbye to this format – Rohit Sharma retires from T20Is

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has called it a day on his T20I career after leading India to glory in the T20 World Cup. Team India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the summit clash at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday to lift their second T20 World Cup title.

Rohit admitted he was desperate to win the World Cup title as his team has been working hard to go all the way in major ICC events but to no avail. India had performed consistently in all the big events (barring the 2021 T20 World Cup) but they could not bring their best in the knockout matches.

Meanwhile, Rohit was able to lead from the front in the T20I showpiece as he took an aggressive approach from the get-go. The right-hander scored 257 runs in eight matches at an average of 36.71 and a blistering strike rate of 156.71 and played an instrumental role in taking India to the finals.

Furthermore, Rohit was spot on as a leader, getting the best out of his players at the right time. 

“This was my last [T20I] game as well,” Rohit said at the press conference after the final. “No better time to say goodbye to this format. I’ve loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the cup.

“I wanted this badly. Very hard to put in words. It was a very emotional moment for me. I was very desperate for this title in my life. Happy that we eventually crossed the line.”

Rohit will finish his T20I career with 4231 runs (most in the format) in 159 T20I matches at an average of 31.34 and a strike rate of 140.89. The right-hander also scored five T20I centuries, which is also the highest in T20Is.

After India’s emphatic win, Virat Kohli also announced his retirement from T20Is.