India Legends Kohli and Rohit Retire from T20 Internationals

India, following their World Cup triumph in Barbados, have announced the retirement of T20 internationals by legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli earned the title of man of the match for his outstanding performance of scoring 76 runs. Rohit became the first Indian captain to lift a World Cup since 2011, leading his team to a thrilling seven-run victory over South Africa.

Rohit, 37, and 35-year-old Kohli are the top two run-scorers in T20 international history. “I’ve loved every moment of this,” said Rohit. “I started my India career in this format. This is what I wanted. I wanted to win the cup and say thank you.”

Speaking about Kohli, Rohit added: “He’s been a champion player without a doubt. We all know what he has done for us. At some point, everyone has to say goodbye to the game, and Virat was very clear that this is what he wanted to do.”

Both players will continue to be available for India in Tests and one-day internationals. Kohli had a challenging World Cup, scoring only 75 runs in seven innings before his crucial knock in the final lifted India to 176-7. South Africa needed 30 runs from the final five overs, but superb India death bowling held them back. Suryakumar Yadav’s incredible catch to remove David Miller in the 20th over sealed the match.

Clearly emotional upon receiving his player-of-the-match award, Kohli said: “This is my last T20 game for India, my last World Cup. I wanted to make the most of it. Our aim was to lift the cup, and I’m really grateful I was able to deliver when it mattered most.”

Kohli ends his T20I career with 4,188 runs from 125 matches, just behind Rohit’s tally of 4,231. Rohit holds the record for most caps (159) and shares the record for most centuries (five) with Australia’s Glenn Maxwell. Rohit Sharma and Shakib Al Hasan have both played in every T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007, when India emerged as the champions.

Their consistent presence in the tournament showcases their remarkable longevity and commitment to the sport. India’s most recent World Cup victory in any format was the 50-over version in 2011. In the last year, they lost finals to Australia in both the World Test Championship at The Oval and the 50-over format in Ahmedabad.

“It was very emotional; I wanted this badly,” said Rohit. “I was desperate for this in my life, so I’m happy we crossed the line this time. This has to be the greatest moment, especially because of how desperately I wanted to win this. All the runs I’ve scored over the years do matter, but I’m not big on stats. Winning games and trophies for India is what I look forward to all the time.”