Picture Credit: X
Team India skipper, Rohit Sharma in June 2024 announced retirement from T20Is, along with the likes of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja after the team’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in West Indies. However, his decision to step down from the shortest format was expected with him being already 37 years old.
But the Indian opener recently broke silence on his decision to retire from T20Is and clarified that it wasn’t the age factor. Speaking in a podcast, Rohit clarified that it was a good time to move on from the shortest format and give an opportunity to the upcoming talent.
I just felt this was the right time: Rohit Sharma
It is to be noted that Rohit Sharma is the only Indian player to be present in all the T20 World Cups till date and ending his T20I career with leading the side to victory, which came in the 2024 edition of the marquee tournament. Speaking on Jitendra Chouksey’s podcast, Sharma clarified, "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. 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," he added. The 37-year-old also added that he “could play all three formats easily” but just felt it to be the right time. “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,” he further added.
Watch Rohit Sharma reveal reason behind his retirement from T20Is:
"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," the India skipper concluded.
The 37-year-old Indian batter called down curtains to his career in T20I cricket having played 159 matches, where he scored 4231 runs at an average of 32.05 and strike rate of 140.89. In his 159 innings, the former T20I skipper scored five centuries and 32 fifty-plus scores, while he registered his highest score of 121*. Currently, Rohit Sharma is leading India in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which stands 1-0 in favour of the hosts.
