The T20 World Cup victory might be laced with emotions, but the team will look to start building for the future with an eye on the home T20 World Cup in 2026.
The T20 World Cup victory might be laced with emotions, but the team will look to start building for the future with an eye on the home T20 World Cup in 2026. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired, but India might also look beyond a few players who were part of this winning campaign.
Several young and exciting talents have proved their mettle in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the management should look to give them more opportunities. To accommodate them, India will have to look beyond veteran players who were the core of the side till this T20 World Cup.
We look at five players who have most likely played their final T20I game.
Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from the T20I format, meaning we have seen his last as a T20I batter. He ended his career with 4231 runs at an average of 31.34 and a strike rate of 140.89 in 159 T20Is. It included 32 fifties and five centuries.
Rohit was among the only two players with Shakib Al Hasan to feature in all editions of the T20 World Cup. He started it with a win and also ended with a victory.
Virat Kohli, the greatest ever T20I batter, has also put curtains on an illustrious T20I career. He also announced his retirement after winning the trophy last night. Kohli scored 4188 runs at a marvellous average of 48.7, including 38 fifties and a century.
Kohli won the Player of the Match in the final, signing off on a high. Kohli didn’t have a great time this T20 World Cup earlier but stepped up when it mattered the most. Probably it was the ideal way for him to bid adieu.
Ravindra Jadeja didn’t have a great T20 World Cup 2024 campaign and got fewer opportunities to showcase his skills. While Jadeja has been a mainstay in India’s limited-over side, his career has never taken off drastically, especially in T20Is. His numbers are below-par, and Jadeja has often churned out mediocre performances for India in crunch games in T20Is.
Consequently, Jadeja has decided to step away from the T20Is, announcing his retirement from the format. He ends his T20I journey with a T20 World Cup win. It was easily his biggest achievement as a T20I player.
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Yuzvendra Chahal was one of the three players not to get any opportunity in the T20 World Cup 2024. He warmed the bench throughout the competition and might not be in consideration anymore. As good as Chahal has been in IPL, he hasn’t managed to perform as consistently for India, especially in the previous few years.
Chahal was out of the side for a prolonged period and got a chance in this T20 World Cup only due to the nature of tracks in the West Indies. Unless Chahal improves massively, he might not feature for India anytime soon. The rising young players have shown a higher ceiling and will be preferred over him now.
Mohammed Siraj’s name in this list might surprise you, but he might also be away from T20Is in the future. Siraj is an exceptional bowler with high skillsets, but his T20 game hasn’t been as impressive or consistent as in ODIs and Tests. He often bowls wayward and struggles to execute his plans in the shortest format.
Further, the workload management might also compel Siraj to focus more on the other two formats. Siraj is India’s all-format bowler and should be managed precisely. Hence, he might not be in contention in T20Is as he looks to get better and better in 50-over and red-ball cricket.
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