Rohit Sharma revealed that he and Virat Kohli had silently decided to retire from T20Is after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. The senior batters now aim to continue playing ODIs until the 2027 World Cup.
Former Team India captain and star batter Rohit Sharma has revealed the truth behind the iconic embrace with his teammate Virat Kohli following the Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados in 2024.
Team India defeated South Africa in the final to end their 17-year drought of clinching the coveted trophy, capping off years of relentless pursuit. India won its first-ever T20 World Cup triumph in 2007, which was the inaugural edition of the tournament, under MS Dhoni’s leadership, defeating Pakistan in the final.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were the two senior-most batters in India’s T20 World Cup-winning team, and the duo had an emotional embrace at the staircase towards the team’s dressing room following their historic victory in the final against South Africa.
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Rohit Sharma Reflects on India’s Long World Cup Wait
Though it’s been two years since Team India reclaimed the T20 World Cup triumph, the raw memories of that campaign remain vivid. Speaking on his show, Family Full House With Rohit Sharma, the former India captain reflected on India’s long wait for an ICC World Cup trophy following the 2023 World Cup final defeat and the journey he shared with Virat Kohli.
“From 2015 to 2024, we were running after that World Cup. We came close many times, but we couldn’t win. We came very close in 2015. We came close in 2019,” Rohit said.
“I don’t even want to remember 2023. I want to forget 19th November. But after that, the six months we had, I knew that the T20 World Cup of 2024 would be my last,” he added.
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Rohit Sharma featured in every edition of the T20 World Cup since the first edition of the tournament in 2007, where he played a pivotal role in helping Team India clinch their maiden title in South Africa.
Following the T20 World Cup triumph in 2024, Rohit finished his illustrious T20I career on a high by announcing his retirement from the format at the international level, but continues to play in the IPL.
‘I and Virat Kohli Agreed Not to Play after T20 World Cup’
Speaking on the emotional embrace with Virat Kohli at the staircase after the final against South Africa, Rohit revealed that he and his long-time partner had a silent understanding regarding their future in the format, adding that they had mutually decided the tournament would be their final hurrah in international T20 cricket.
“And Virat and I had agreed not to play T20 after that. That’s why we were so emotional, because we had run so much for that World Cup,” Rohit said.
“And finally, when you got it, at that time, we didn’t know what to do. Whatever was happening in front of us, we were just reacting to that,” he added.
After retiring from T20Is, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also retired from Test cricket in 2025, leaving 50-over ODIs as their sole international format. Currently, the Indian batting stalwarts are aiming to extend their illustrious international careers until the 2027 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
Rohit and Kohli are set to return to action in the upcoming first ODI of the three-match series against West Indies at the Greenfields International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, September 27.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma eyes 2027 ODI World Cup, says he has ‘unfinished business’