Indian skipper Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket after India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in Barbados over South Africa. Rohit retired as the highest run-scorer in T20Is and will continue to play the format in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Months after India ended their ICC Trophy drought, Rohit said that he retired to make way for other players in the fast-paced format.
'The only reason I retired from T20Is is because I have had my time, I enjoyed playing the format, I played for 17 years, I did well and all of that," said Rohit told Jitendra Chouksey during a podcast.
"Then, you won the (2024) World Cup. This was the best time for me to decide that 'okay, this is now time for me to move on and look after the other things'. There are a lot of good players who can do well for India."
Rohit on his fitness
Rohit also said that he is still capable of representing India in all three formats. He also opened up on how he trains his mind to meet the high standards of fitness to play international cricket.
"It (decision to quit T20Is) was not because I felt anything. I just felt this was the right time. I could still play all three formats easily. That's why I say fitness is in your mind, how you train your mind."
"I believe everything is in the mind. I am a person who has got a lot of self-belief because I know that I can control my mind when I have to. Sometimes it's not easy. I know most of the time I can do that. If you tell your body that you are young, you can do this, you can do that, (then) of course you can," Rohit added.
Rohit’s T20I numbers
Rohit played the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup in 2007 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. He retired with 4,231 runs from 151 innings at an average of 32.05 including five centuries and 32 fifties. The 37-year-old is the only Indian player to win two T20 World Cups.
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