Rohit Sharma joins Virat Kohli in T20I retirement after World Cup win

Rohit Sharma exits T20I as the format's top scorer with 4231 runs in 159 matches, including the most centuries.

BARBADOS:

Fresh off India's T20 Word Cup championship vicory, current white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has emulated Virat Kohli's path in announcing an end to his T20I career.

"There couldn't have been a better time to bid farewell to T20 internationals than after winning the World Cup," an emotional Sharma said in the post-match press conference.

"I will continue to represent India in ODIs and Test cricket, but my T20I journey ends here."

Sharma, who took over the captaincy from Kohli in 2021, led India to glory 17 years after the team's first T20 World Cup triumph under MS Dhoni in 2007.

"It's been an incredible ride, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it," Sharma reflected.

"But now it's time for me to shift my focus to other formats and help India achieve more success."

In his 159 T20I appearances, Sharma amassed 4,231 runs, the most by any batter in the format. He also holds the record for most sixes (205) and most centuries (5).

Rohit and Kohli's retirement from the T20I format was not entirely unexpected.

Both players had not played any T20Is after India's semi-final defeat in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, and only resumed playing T20Is in January this year - with the focus on the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Rohit finished the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer - 257 at a strike rate of 156.70 - in difficult batting conditions in the USA and the West Indies.

He took on the responsibility of giving India fast starts with his attacking approach, and scored crucial match-winning half-centuries in their last Super Eight game against Australia and the semi-final against England.