Virender Sehwag starts Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli debate, names player who was more deserving of T20 World Cup trophy

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirements from the T20I format after India's historic triumph at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue won their second T20 World Cup title in 17 years. It was also their first ICC title in 11 years. 

Rohit Sharma won the inaugural T20 World Cup as a player in 2007. He won it again as a captain after a gap of 17 years in 2024. Virat Kohli won the ICC ODI World Cup 2011, Champions Trophy 2013, and T20 World Cup 2024 as a player. 

Both players had their disappointing times in their captaincy careers as well. Rohit led India to losses in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, the WTC 2023 final, and the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Kohli lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final, and faced a league stage exit in the T20 World Cup 2021. 

Also Read: Virat Kohli's post after T20 World Cup 2024 triumph becomes most liked Instagram post in India

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag in a conversation with Cricbuzz looked back on the T20I careers of both Rohit and Kohli. With an empathetic tone, he said that the players who gave their all in this tournament were bound to be in tears after such an iconic win. 

"This win means a lot for Rohit and Kohli. Very few players win trophies in the early stage of their careers. Players actually won titles in the fag end of their careers. When Kohli won the 2011 World Cup it was still early days in his career. In between he did not win any World Cup. Yes we did win the ICC Champions Trophy in between, but Kohli did not win an ICC title in between. " said Sehwag. 

"This win is invaluable for Rohit and Kohli. Since the last few years, they were playing to win an ICC World Cup title which eventually happened with this T20 World Cup win. When it finally happened that is when they had tears in their eyes which is very normal for someone who has played for over 15 years" added the former Indian cricketer.

Virender Sehwag further recollected days of India's 2011 World Cup win, the batter scored a duck in that game. However, he remembered the atmosphere in the dressing room after that win. 

"India's 2024 win made me remember the 2011 World Cup winning days. My contribution was zero in the final match apart from fielding for the 50 overs but I was very emotional after the World Cup win as every player in the team had tears in their eyes and those are happy tears and hence it does not stop even if you try to stop them" recollected Sehwag. 

Congratulations To Rohit Sharma And The Full Team: Virender Sehwag

#Rohit-#Kohli retire on a high, clinch their final #T20WorldCup!@Virendersehwag & @Parthiv9 react, on #CricbuzzLive Hindi#T20WC #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/WbN0up9wA2

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) June 30, 2024

Sehwag further said that both the players deserved this trophy, more so Rohit Sharma as he took the team to the final on multiple occasions and unfortunately lost the final. 

"Both of them deserved to win the trophy, more so Rohit Sharma. Since he took over captaincy, he took India to the finals but never won any. He finally managed to end the trophy drought for India. Hats off to Rohit Sharma and the full team" Sehwag concluded saying. 

Both Rohit and Kohli will continue to play ODIs and Test matches as of now after retiring from T20I cricket.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma's much-awaited first social media post after T20 World Cup victory breaks internet