Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20Is after leading India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title in Barbados on Saturday, June 29. The Indian captain led by example to end India's 11-year-old wait for the ICC trophy and said goodbye to the shortest format after the thrilling game at Kensington Oval.
"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."
The 37-year-old ended his T20I career as the leading run-getter in the format after scoring the second-highest 257 runs in the ninth edition of the tournament in the USA and West Indies. Rohit scored 4,231 runs in 159 T20I matches and also holds the record for the most centuries - five.
Notably, Rohit won the T20 World Cup 2007 title under MS Dhoni's leadership and finished his career with another title as a captain. Rohit's retirement was no surprise for the fans after achieving everything he could in T20Is and going out in the best way possible. He scored three fifties in eight innings and entertained fans with a strike rate of 156.70.
Virat Kohli first announced his decision to retire from the shortest format of the game after clinching the Player of the Match award in the 2024 final. Kohli top-scored with 76 runs to help India score a total of 176/7 while batting first as he finished his career as the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history.
