India Cricket Legends Retire

 

Indian cricket legends Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from T20 internationals following their World Cup victory in Barbados.

 

India clinched the T20 World Cup with a thrilling seven-run win over South Africa. Kohli's 76 runs earned him the man of the match award, while Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain to lift a World Cup since 2011. Rohit, 37, and Kohli, 35, are the top two all-time T20 international run-scorers.

 

"I've loved every moment of this," said Rohit. "I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted. I wanted to win the cup and say thank you."

 

Jadeja, 35, wrote on Instagram, "Winning the T20 World Cup was a dream come true, a pinnacle of my T20 international career. Thank you for the memories, the cheers, and the unwavering support."

 

Kohli had a tough World Cup with only 75 runs in seven innings before his crucial performance in the final. South Africa needed 30 runs from the last five overs, but superb death bowling and Suryakumar Yadav's stunning catch secured the win for India.

 

"This is my last T20 game playing for India, my last World Cup," Kohli said. "I wanted to make the most of it. We wanted to lift the cup. I'm really grateful I was able to get the job done for the team when it mattered the most."

 

Kohli retires with 4,188 runs from 125 T20 internationals, just behind Rohit's 4,231 runs. Rohit's 159 caps and five centuries, a record shared with Australia's Glenn Maxwell, highlight his illustrious career.

 

Jadeja, a left-arm spinning all-rounder, has played 74 T20 internationals, taking 54 wickets and scoring 515 runs. Rohit and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan are the only players to feature in every T20 World Cup since the tournament's inception in 2007.

 

India's last World Cup victory in any format was in 2011. Rohit expressed his deep desire to win the T20 World Cup, calling it the greatest moment of his career. "Winning games for India, winning trophies for India, that is what I look forward to all the time," he said.