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India secured a thrilling victory over South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final, triumphing by a margin of seven runs in a match held in Barbados on June 29. This win marked India’s second T20 World Cup title, breaking a 17-year drought since their last triumph in the format.
Following India’s triumph, the cricket world was stunned by a series of retirements announced by key players. Virat Kohli, after the final, declared his retirement from T20 International cricket. Shortly after, Indian captain Rohit Sharma also confirmed his retirement during a post-match press conference. The wave of retirements continued with star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announcing his retirement from T20Is a day after the final. These decisions took not only fans but also the Indian cricket fraternity by surprise.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey revealed that the retirements of Kohli, Sharma, and Jadeja came as unexpected news to the team management, as there had been no prior discussion about such a move in the dressing room.
“I think no one was expecting that (the retirement announcements),” Mhambrey was quoted as saying.
“If you had any conversation earlier, we would have known this would be coming. But none of them had this conversation. If, individually or privately, they had a conversation with someone like Rahul (Dravid), that’s a different thing, but not amongst the team or other individuals. So that was a little surprising for us as well,” he added
Rohit Sharma, who became the third Indian captain to clinch an ICC trophy, concluded his illustrious T20I career as the most experienced player in the format’s history. His legacy is further cemented by holding records for the highest number of matches played, most runs scored, maximum sixes hit, and centuries achieved. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli stands as the second highest run scorer in T20I history, adding another feather to his cap in the realm of international cricket.
“If you look at it from the players’ perspective, there can’t be a better end to one format, right? We are talking about people who have been part of the dressing room for maybe more than a decade, 12–13 years.
“After winning the T20 World Cup, especially the stage that their careers are in, they’re no longer young. You’ve got to sometimes choose. You have to decide what formats you’re going to play and cut down the cricket to focus on a particular format because age is not on your side. The experience and skills are there, but still, you’ve got to be smart. And I think that’s one of the reasons they must have done that because they couldn’t go on a bigger high than winning the World Cup,” Mhambrey said.
