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Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20I cricket following India’s victory over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday, marking India’s second T20 World Cup triumph.
This win ended India’s 17-year wait for a T20 World Cup title and broke an 11-year ICC trophy drought since their last triumph under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in the ICC Champions Trophy 2023. Despite several appearances in semi-finals and finals, India had struggled to secure another ICC title, leading to doubts among players and coaching staff about their ability to win.
The T20 World Cup victory is viewed as a significant milestone for Indian cricket, rejuvenating belief within the team and paving the way for the younger generation of cricketers. The retirements of Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja signify a shift towards nurturing new talent and passing the leadership baton to the upcoming generation.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan commented on the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, predicting that India will dominate the upcoming ICC tournaments. India is set to co-host the next T20I World Cup with Sri Lanka, and Vaughan anticipates that the Indian team, equipped with their current talent pool, will successfully defend their title.
Michael Vaughan on Kohli, Rohit, Jadeja
Speaking at the Club Prairie Fire podcast Vaughan said “in T20 cricket Rohit for me is up there with the best. He is a brilliant captain. How he was not the Mumbai Indians captain this year is beyond me,” said Vaughan.
“Virat’s just incredible. He will carry on playing Test cricket, 50 overs cricket obviously the IPL so we are going to see plenty more of those two.”
Vaughan praised Ravindra Jadeja, placing him among the top all-rounders in T20 cricket. He added that considering the abilities of Jadeja and the other retiring players, they could have secured more white-ball trophies during their careers.
Vaughan also commented on India’s victory in the final and highlighted it as a perfect farewell for the retiring trio from T20I cricket. “Jadeja is among the best all-rounders to have played T20 cricket. This is the perfect way to go but they should have won more ICC trophies. Rohit won one in 2007 and so it took 17 years for him to win the next ICC title. What a way to go out with a trophy in your hand and you can now sit back play a bit of Test cricket, 50-overs cricket, and the IPL. So three legends of the game, Indian cricket will miss them but they will be replaced. There is plenty of talent in that team,” Vaughan concluded saying.
Currently, Rohit Sharma tops the list of leading run-scorers in T20I cricket, having accumulated 4231 runs in 159 matches. Following him is Virat Kohli, who has scored 4188 runs in 125 matches, while Babar Azam holds the third position with 4145 runs in 123 matches to date.
