Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have officially retired from T20I cricket, bringing the curtain down on their illustrious and trophy laden careers. Today, we take a rollercoaster ride back into their careers. So, let’s dive back into time!
EARLY CAREER, 2006-2007
Rohit Sharma
stepped into the international stage of T20I cricket, when he was just 20, in
the inaugural edition of the T20I world cup in 2007, South Africa. He had
previous international experience at U19 level when he finished second to
PAKISTAN in the ODI U19 WORLD CUP a year prior in 2006, which took place in Sri
Lanka. That’s right! Pakistan actually won the U19 World cup that year. But
returning to our main topic, Rohit was selected in a controversial turn of
events after 3 main team players were ruled out. It was much to everyone’s
surprise: some backed him, others didn’t but Rohit was committed to it. And to
everyone’s surprise, he excelled. Unexpectedly, he played 4 games, batting 3
times and scoring 3 times and even getting a fifty. Of course, against all
odds, he was also picked in the starting lineup for the grand finale against
Pakistan in which they took revenge for the 2006 U19 final defeat. All this
time, Virat was getting ready to start his own story!
JOINING VIRAT ON THE BIG
STAGE
VIRAT KOHLI
officially started his T20I international career in 2010 in an Indian tour to
Zimbabwe. Although, he wasn’t picked for the world cup that year. He was picked
for the 2012 T20I World cup after a series of impressive performances. Rohit
Sharma was, of course, also picked and together these two delivered some
incredible performances. Kohli and Rohit scored a grand total of 267 impressive
runs while Kohli scored 185 of these, a whopping 70%! India was fired on by
these two in the tournament, topping a group with defending champions England a
tricky Afghanistan. They then proceeded to destroy Pakistan by 8 Wickets and
knocked South Africa too before falling short to eventual semifinalists, Australia.
These two again performed incredibly in the T20I World Cup 2014 dragging India
one handedly, into a World Cup final before losing out for a nail-biting defeat
against Sri Lanka in the final. But the next world cup coming up in 2016, was
destined to be something special.
A SHOT AT WC GLORY, FROM
HOME GROUNDS
For the
first time ever in the existence of the T20I World cup, India got the honor to
host an edition of the tournament, 9 years after it was founded. This was going
to be an incredible atmosphere as everyone estimated. Led on by their fans,
India had one-of-a-kind start to the tournament India destroyed Pakistan,
Bangladesh and even Australia on their way to the World Cup Semifinal. As
always, Rohit and Kohli were in top forms as they headed to the WC Semis. Rohit
dispatched an over for over 20 runs and Kohli. Well, he destroyed the Windies
and scored 89 runs of just 47 balls with an incredible strike rate of more than
170. In the end, India fell just short and West Indies prevailed.
A HABIT OF HEARTBREAK FOR RO-KO
The
next two world cups ended in absolute heartbreak in 2021, which had to take
place in 2020, and of course 2022 in Australia. In the 2021 T20I World cup in
UAE, PAKISTAN DESTROYED INDIA BY 10 WICKETS! Of course, that was also the match
in which Shaheen Shah Afridi got Rohit Sharma LBW at the lowest peak of his
career. Soon Shaheen got Kohli too and India got banged. India went to lose to
New Zealand too, but at the very least, they did win their final 3 group games.
They were eventually knocked out as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to
deliver on the biggest stage. In the 2022 World cup in Australia, however, India
looked on fire. This time, they were captained by Rohit Sharma, his first ever
time captaining the Indian men’s national senior team in an international
competition. India beat Pakistan to start proceedings, a game in which Kohli
scored perhaps the most memorable iconic innings of his illustrious T20I
career. He got an unbeaten 80+, including perhaps the best six of the competition,
hitting Haris Rauf for a straight six at a 140 k/ph. ball. India won almost
every game in the group stage that year, and roared into the semi-finals, just
to roar straight back out after getting thumped to England by 10 Wickets,
another heartbreak for the blues.
DESTINY FULFILLED
After several years, a destiny fulfilled. The
so called greatest of all time, who hadn’t won a T20I World cup yet in his
entire career, got one last shot at the competition to make it one of his own
and he did just that. Rohit, was in incredible form in the lead up to the
finale and Kohli, was in horrendous form averaging 11 per match but come the
big day, the tables turned and the big game player Kohli stepped up big time.
Rohit got out early but Kohli put on a Virat Kohli masterclass, batting
unbeaten all throughout the 20 overs and getting a defendable total. The
bowlers eventually managed that after a tip top match.
A dream for life, a destiny for generations
to come was fulfilled. A superb full stop to two incredible careers: one in
which the player wins a world cup at his absolute final peak and of course,
what better time to retire than after captaining your side to World cup glory? Rohit
Sharma joins a three-player list in the end that have directly retired after winning
the world cup. This list has legends of the game like Ricky Ponting and the
great Imran Khan himself. So that’s a wrap then, from this one and here are
some common FAQs.
FAQs
FAQ 1: Who is the best
Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli?
As
for ODIs, both the captains are closely placed on the numbers, with Rohit
edging past Kohli in the 50-over cricket. With a win percentage of over 77%,
Rohit led the team to victory on 34 occasions. However, Kohli isn't far behind
(70%) -- what's impressive is his 65 wins as captain.
FAQ 2: Will Virat Kohli
and Rohit Sharma play the Champions Trophy?
However,
all the three players are still committed to playing ODI and Test formats for
the nation. While admitting that the Indian cricket is going through a
transition phase, BCCI secretary Jay Shah hinted that the likes of Virat and
Rohit will be part of the Indian team in the Champions Trophy 2025.
FAQ 3: Who is best
Rohit or Dhoni?
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