India captain Rohit Sharma reaffirmed that he has retired from T20I cricket, stating there is no possibility of his return to the shortest format of the game. Rohit also took a subtle dig at the “retirement scene” in international cricket, remarking that he has seen some cricketers make U-turns on their retirement calls — something he insists he will not do in his career.
Rohit retired from T20I cricket after India won the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA in July. Both Rohit and Virat Kohli ended their T20I careers shortly after India claimed the elusive trophy, defeating South Africa in a thrilling final in Barbados on June 29. However, Rohit has continued to play in both one-day and Test cricket, remaining the captain in these two longer formats.
“Retirement has become a joke these days in world cricket, people announce retirement but then return to play just like that. Yes, it hasn’t happened in India a lot. However, I have been observing players from other countries. They announce retirement but then return and play cricket. You don’t get to understand whether someone has retired or not,” Rohit Sharma said in an interaction with JioCinema.
“I am very clear. That was it. It was the perfect time for me to say goodbye to the format. I started playing this format for India, I made my debut in ODIs, but straightaway went on to play T20 World Cup in 2007. We won that. I have now won another World Cup,” he added.
Rohit said earlier this year that he was not thinking about retirement from T20Is, but the World Cup triumph influenced his decision to call it quits.
Rohit ended his T20I career with two World Cups, having won under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in 2007 and as a captain in 2024.Rohit played 159 T20Is in a career that spanned 17 years, hitting 4231 runs, including five hundreds and 32 fifties. The 37-year-old led from the front in the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies, playing fearless cricket and inspiring the team to play similarly.
