Credit: ICC
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma recently opened up on his retirement from the T20I format post India’s 2024 T20 World Cup. The opening batter bid adieu to the shortest format after leading India to the title in Barbados on June 29, 2024. Along with him, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja also announced their retirement from T20I after the World Cup win. Recently, Rohit also announced his retirement from the Test format and will only continue to play the ODIs for India.
After more than 10 months of his T20I retirement, Rohit Sharma revealed that he was anyways going to call off his T20I career even if India had lost the T20 World Cup last year. Rohit belies that it wasn’t right for him to continue as there were several young talented players to represent India in the shorter format.
“Had we not won the T20 World Cup, I would have announced my retirement anyway because I had tried enough. It is (was) not fair for me to continue. You have to give chances to others. But after winning, you feel that you still have it in you; you are playing well, and you have given the result as well, so why not? Why not continue?" Rohit Sharma said in hiss interview with Vimal Kumar on YouTube.
Rohit Sharma eyes ultimate prize in 2027 ODI World Cup
Rohit Sharma has now announced his retirement from both T20Is and Tests but will continue to play in the ODI format for India. Now, as a player and a captain, Rohit’s goal will be to lead India to the title in 2027 ODI World Cup that will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Rohit Sharma-led Indian team made it to the final of the home ODI World Cup in 2023 by winning all the league matches and the semi-final. However, they suffered a heart-breaking defeat against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19. 2023.
After the 2023 World Cup final loss, India went on to win back-to-back titles under Rohit Sharma’s leadership including the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. Now, the next big ICC event Rohit Sharma is likely to play will be the 2027 ODI World Cup and he will be looking to finally get his hands on the ultimate trophy.
