Indian captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20Is after guiding the Men in Blue to a historic T20 World Cup title in 2024. India registered a heart-stopping win over South Africa in the finale when they edged past the Proteas side by seven runs to lift their second T20 World title.
After the match, both Virat and Rohit announced their retirement from T20Is, bringing down the curtains to their successful careers in the format. Now Rohit's childhood coach Dinesh Lad has given his say on the Indian captain's decision to hang his boots from the shortest format in an Interview with India TV.
"Rohit's decision to retire from T20Is is a good decision. The younger players should get their opportunities. His next target is the World Test Championship now," Lad said in an interview with India TV.
Lad shares Rohit's tough time during 2011
The cricket coach then shared how Rohit had to navigate through a tough time in 2011 when he was not selected for the ODI World Cup. Lad said that he was in shock after this but he passed on a lesson to him. "He was shocked when he was not selected in the ODI World Cup 2011 squad. I had told him then that if you won't give time to cricket, people will forget you. He made a promise then that he would not give him a reason to complain. Since then, his graph has kept on growing," the coach recalled.
Lad was filled with joy with Rohit touching great heights in the world of cricket. "I am extremely happy to see that 12-year-old kid now lifting the World Cup. He has proved that coming from a humble background does not matter if you have the talent in you. Rohit has worked so hard and has resultingly earned the success," Lad added.
Rohit leaves behind a T20 legacy. He is the most capped T20I player in the world with 159 appearances. Rohit is the leading run-scorer in the format with 4231 runs to his name. He is also the first captain to lead a team to 50 T20I wins.
