Former England player predicts Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20 internationals after India’s semi-final exit
India received a hammering defeat by England in the second semi-final of the 20-20 World Cup and got knocked out of the tournament. After India’s another failure in world tournaments, questions were raised on the future of senior Indian players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the team. Former England spinner has also made a prediction regarding the future of India’s two-star players.
Panesar stated that some senior players will be soon announcing their retirements. He further said that while he expects Kohli to be there at the 20-20 World Cup 2024, Indian captain Rohit Sharma is certainly not going to stay for two more years. Panesar also said the same about Ashwin and Karthik.
“Rohit (Sharma), Dinesh Karthik and R Ashwin are the top names who could say goodbye to T20I cricket. The team management will surely have a meeting with these guys and will ask them about their plans…It’s time these players make way for young player”, he said.
“Virat is in great form. He is the fittest among all the Indian players. Age is just a number for Virat considering his super fitness. You may see him in the 2024 20-20 World Cup. I am not seeing Rohit being part of that tournament, DK and Ashwin too (may not be there). There could be more players (considering T20I retirement), but these three, I think, will leave T20Is and focus on Tests and ODIs”, he further added.
Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were criticized for their conservative approach in the powerplay throughout the tournament as they had the worst run rate in the first six overs among the top teams.
Kohli was the highest run-scorer of the tournament
Meanwhile, Kohli ended the tournament as the highest run scorer with 296 runs against his name and also became the first player to do so in multiple 20-20 World Cups (2014 and 2022). During the tournament, he also surpassed Mahela Jayawardene to become the leading run-scorer in the history of the 20-20 World Cup. Kohli has been awarded the prestigious Player of the Tournament twice in the 20-20 World Cup (2014 and 2016).
According to reports, the Indian Cricket Board has asked Rohit and Kohli to decide about continuing in the T20Is. It will be interesting to see whether they will continue or not in the format going ahead.
