Rohit Sharma drops bombshell on T20I retirement U-turn

India National Cricket Team Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma has made a major statement on his potential T20I retirement U-turn, saying that retirement has become a joke these days.

Rohit Sharma said goodbye to the T20I cricket after leading the side to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. He announced his retirement at the post-match press conference after Virat Kohli and later Ravindra Jadeja also quit the T20Is, making the way for youngsters in the side.

Rohit finished his T20I career on a high as apart from being a T20 World Cup-winning captain, he was at the top of the leading run-getters list in the format.

He still sits at the No.1 spot on the list of highest run-scorers in T20Is with 4231 runs in his bag to go with 5 centuries. Following him on the list is none other than batting legend Virat Kohli with 4188 runs under his belt.

Meanwhile, Rohit retired from T20Is but continues to play ODIs and Tests for India. He has looked in sensational form in recent times and can still fit in India's scheme of things in T20Is.

Across the globe, international cricketers have often been seen making a U-turn on their retirement, and Rohit Sharma was asked about joining the trend and playing T20Is for India again. Recently, the likes of Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim reversed their retirements to play for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Retirement has become a joke these days in the world of cricket these days - Rohit Sharma

According to Rohit Sharma, the cricketers have made retirement a joke. He also took a brutal dig at the players taking a U-turn on their retirement.

“Retirement has become a joke these days in the world of cricket these days,” Rohit said on JioCinema. “People announce retirement but then return to play. It hasn’t happened in India, it’s rare here. However, I have been observing players from other countries – they announce retirement but then make a U-turn. So you never really know whether someone has actually retired.”

However, Rohit Sharma has clearly declined to join the trend and said that he is in a happy space with his retirement from T20Is. The Indian skipper said that his decision was a final one and he is very clear about how he wants to move forward in his international career.

“My decision is final and I am very clear. It was a perfect time to say goodbye to the format which I really loved playing. I played 50-over cricket for India and then directly I played T20 World Cup in 2007. I won then and then this one too (2024 T20 World Cup). Good time to move on,” he said.

After Rohit Sharma quit the T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav was handed the captaincy in the shortest format, and in his first series, the star player guided India to a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka National Cricket Team away from home.

India's next T20I challenge will be against Bangladesh National Cricket Team at home. The matches are set to be played on October 7, 10 and 13.