Legendary cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma drew the curtain on their iconic T20I careers after the historic win in the Finals of the just-concluded edition of the T20 World Cup 2024 held at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, on June 29 (Saturday). Their retirement from the shortest format of the game at the International level means they will not be a part of the Zimbabwe or T20I series vs Sri Lanka in the coming days. However, they can make their potential return for the Men in Blue side by the next month.
Rohit, Virat's winning farewell to T20Is
Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played crucial roles in helping India end their 11-year-long trophy drought and win their second T20 World title before retiring from T20Is at the highest of highs. Both of them will continue to play IPL for their respective franchise.
"That was my last game as well. Honestly, I have enjoyed it since the time I started playing this format. There is no better time to say goodbye to this format. I have loved every moment of it. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted to do," Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
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"This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you can't get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation. This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup. Wanted to Yes I have, this was an open secret. Not something that I wasn't going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward. It's been a long wait for us, waiting to win an ICC tournament. You look at someone like Rohit, he's played 9 T20 World Cups and this is my sixth. He deserves it. It's been difficult to hold things (emotions) back and I think it's going to sink in later. It's an amazing day and I'm thankful," said Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's next possible assignment
Team India led by Shubman Gill is all set to take on Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series which will start from June 6. After this series, the Men in Blue will be touring Sri Lanka for three T20Is and three ODIs. However, the schedule for this tour is yet to be announced. Both Rohit and Virat can make their potential return with the 50-over series as they would be focused on the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy which is currently set to be hosted by Pakistan next year.
However, if they take a longer break before their return, they will most likely make their much-awaited return for the home Test series against Bangladesh. This series will be crucial for India's campaign in the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship.
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