After leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup earlier this year, Rohit Sharma decided to quit the format in the international arena, while many felt he is still fit enough to play both the white-ball formats besides Test cricket.
India defeated South Africa in a thrilling final to become the T20 world champions once again in June this year. Soon after the triumph in Barbados, both Rohit and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from T20Is.
In a recent podcast, Rohit, who was also part of MS Dhoni's team that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, shed light on the reasons why he felt it was time for him to bid T20Is adieu.
'The only reason I retired from T20Is is because I have had my time, I enjoyed playing the format, I played for 17 years, I did well and all of that," said Rohit. "Then, you won the (2024) World Cup. This was the best time for me to decide that 'okay, this is now time for me to move on and look after the other things'. There are a lot of good players who can do well for India."
"It (decision to quit T20Is) was not because I felt anything. I just felt this was the right time. I could still play all three formats easily. That's why I say fitness is in your mind, how you train your mind."
"I believe everything is in the mind. I am a person who has got a lot of self-belief because I know that I can control my mind when I have to. Sometimes it's not easy. I know most of the time I can do that. If you tell your body that you are young, you can do this, you can do that, (then) of course you can," Rohit added.
Rohit played 159 T20Is and ended up with 4231 runs at an average of 31.34 and strike rate of 140.89, including 5 hundreds and 32 fifties.
After Rohit quit T20Is, the BCCI appointed Suryakumar Yadav in the role.
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