Rohit Sharma became the third Indian captain to win an ICC trophy when India lifted the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados in June. This win also ended Men in Blue’s ICC title drought after 11 years.
During the presentation ceremony, Virat Kohli, who had won the Player of the Final, announced his retirement from T20Is. And then shockingly, Rohit Sharma joined Kohli in retiring from the format as well, during the post-match press conference.
The two-time T20 World Cup winner finished his T20I career with 4231 runs in 159 matches. He scored five centuries and hammered as many as 205 sixes during his 17-year-long career.
Rohit, the most capped player in T20Is history, as well as the batter with the most runs, sixes, and centuries, recently spoke out about his decision to retire from T20Is, stating that it was the best time for him to move on and that there are so many talented players who can do well for India.
“No no no. The only reason I retired from T20Is was because I’ve had my time. I enjoyed playing the format. I played for 17 years, and I did well. When you win the World Cup… this is the best time for you to move on. It was time to move on and look after other things. There are a lot of good players who can do well for India,” Rohit said during an interview on Fittr’s YouTube channel.
He, however, clarified that he is not thinking about retiring from Tests and ODIs shortly.
“So, that was not because I felt anything. I just felt it was the right time. I can still play all three formats easily. That’s why I say that fitness is in your mind and how you train it. I believe everything is in the mind, I have a lot of self-belief because I know I can control my mind. It’s not easy, but I know most of the time, I can do that. If you tell your body you’re young, you can do that,” he added.
The 37-year-old right-handed hitter also discussed the value and role of fitness in cricket.
“To play for 17 years, I am close to 500 games now, for India, internationally. 500 games, not a lot of cricketers globally have played. There must be like very few numbers who have played that much. To have that longevity, there has to be something about your routine. How you go about playing the game. How you manage your fitness and mind, and how you train yourself. And how do you get ready for the game, most importantly. At the end of the day, our job is to be 100% ready for the game and perform to win games, and then in that preparation comes fitness,” he added.
Rohit is currently leading India in a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, the second game of which is taking place at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 27 onwards.
