India captain Rohit Sharma retired from T20 Internationals on Saturday after guiding India to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title.
Sharma joined former India captain Virat Kohli in announcing his retirement after India’s thrilling seven-run win over South Africa in the final in Barbados which ended a 13-year wait for an ICC trophy.
Sharma signed off from the format in style as he led from the front with the bat in the tournament. The 37-year-old opener finished as India’s top run scorer at the tournament with 248 runs, including three fifties, at an average of over 41.
“This was my last [T20I] game as well,” Sharma said in the post-match press conference. “There is no better time to say goodbye to this format.”
Sharma leaves as the highest-ever scorer in T20Is, with 4231 runs to his name – Kohli is second on the list with 4188.
“I’ve loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the Cup. I wanted this badly. Very hard to put in words. It was a very emotional moment for me. I was very desperate for this title in my life. I’m happy that we eventually crossed the line.”
Sharma has also scored five T20I centuries, more than any other player, and is also the only Indian to have won two T20 World Cups – he was also a part of the squad that won the inaugural title in 2007.
