After India emerged champions in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2024, three storied individuals-Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have announced their international retirement from the shortest format of the game. This kind of incident perhaps occurred for the first time in the history.
However, none of the retirements were a surprise. Rohit has just turned 37, Kohli will be 36 in November and Jadeja is five and a half months short of his 36th birthday. All the three cricketers have at least spent a decade and a half representing the country in different formats.
With World Cup winner’s medal around their necks, they have left it for the next generation of talented cricketers to take over.
What next?
Though the trio has retired from T20Is, there is no sign yet that they are walking away from the 20-over game in its entirety. They will still play the format in the Indian Premier League (IPL and their fans still have plenty to look forward to in that regard. They also have lots to contribute to the national team, given their pre-eminence in both Tests and One-Day Internationals.
India’s next Test assignment is at home against Bangladesh. The series will be followed by three more against New Zealand before they embark for Australia and five Tests, seeking a hat-trick of series wins Down Under. If they make it to a third successive World Test Championship final in the summer, that will be followed by five Tests in England. India haven’t clinched a series since 2007.