Shortly after leading his team to win in the 2024 T20 World Cup, star Indian captain and opener Rohit Sharma declared his retirement from T20 International cricket. Sharma discussed the reasoning behind his choice to leave the game’s shortest version now, for the first time since that decision.
He made his T20I debut in 2007 and is the only player from India to have participated in every T20 World Cup. He concluded his T20I career by captaining the winning 2024 team. Star batsman Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also declared their retirement from the format concurrently with Kohli’s. Sharma explained his decision-making process in a podcast.
“I just gave up playing Twenty20 Internationals because I felt like I had had enough, appreciated the format, played for 17 years, performed well, and all that. You went on to win the 2024 World Cup. This was the ideal moment for me to say, “All right, I’m done. I should go take care of the other things.” Many talented players exist who can succeed for India,” he remarked.
It just seemed like the appropriate moment to me: Rohit Sharma
Although the 37-year-old admitted that he could still play the format, it’s best to let go of this version of the game and give the next generation of players a chance.
“I didn’t feel anything when I made the decision to stop playing T20Is. It just seemed like the appropriate moment to me. I could still play with ease in all three formats. For this reason, I believe that mental fitness stems from mental training,” he continued.
The Nagpur native added that everything exists only in the mind. He discussed the importance of mental control and self-belief when making decisions of this nature.
“Everything, in my opinion, is mental. I consider myself to be very confident in myself because I am aware of my ability to exert mental control when necessary. It’s not always easy. I’m aware that I can usually accomplish it. The captain of India said, “Of course you can. If you tell your body that you are young, you can accomplish this and that.
He has scored 4231 runs at an amazing average of 32.05 and a strike rate of 140.89 in 159 games. He has shattered 32 half-centuries and five centuries.
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Suryakumar Yadav was named the T20I captain by the board following Sharma’s resignation; Sharma had been the captain of the Test and ODI teams.
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