‘It's a full circle now...’: Rohit Sharma joins Kohli in retiring from T20Is, Rahul Dravid also hangs up boots

India captain Rohit Sharma announced his decision to retire from T20 Internationals, the shortest format of the game, on June 29. While Kohli called it quits after winning the Player of the Match award at the Kensington Oval, Rohit made it official while addressing the press after the victory. 

Virat Kohli's brilliance and Rohit Sharma's inspirational leadership brought an end to India's 17-year wait, clinching their second T20 World Cup title with a hard-fought 7-run victory over South Africa in a thrilling final on Saturday.

“Whenever I feel inside what is right, I try and do that, that has been my nature when I captained the team as well. What I feel inside is what I want to do. I don't think a lot about the past and future...I didn’t think that I would retire from T20 but such a situation came and I thought it was the perfect situation for me. Nothing better than winning the cup and saying goodbye,” said the Indian captain. 

“I started playing in 2007...I went to Ireland for 50 overs but soon we went to South Africa to play the T20 World Cup and we won and now this, so it is a full circle now, I am very happy with this...” he added. 

The two cricketers announced the end of their journey in T20Is after India won the T20 World Cup in Barbados, beating South Africa in a thrilling final. Kohli, Player of the Match in the final, announced his retirement, stating, “This was my last T20 World Cup, exactly what we wanted to achieve.” 

Rahul Dravid hangs up boots 

Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid signed off from his India coach stint in the Caribbean. As the team made it to their third ICC final in a year, giving the India head coach a final shot to end his coaching stint with a World Cup trophy that has eluded him since long. 

Unleashing his emotion in the trophy celebrations, Dravid showcased how much it meant to claim the World Cup crown for India.Dravid had earlier confirmed that he will part ways with Rohit and Co. after the ICC T20 World Cup.

On India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win, Dravid said, “As a player, I was not lucky enough to win a trophy but I gave my best... I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to coach a team, I was lucky that this bunch of boys made it possible for me to be able to win this trophy. It is a great feeling, it is not like I was aiming for some redemption, it was the job I was doing...it has been a great journey...” 

In a tribute to Dravid’s legacy and dedication, Rohit said that coach Dravid deserved the T20 World Cup trophy more than any of the players for what he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20–25 years. “Rahul Dravid, more than anyone of us, deserved the World Cup trophy... I think this was the only thing that was left in his cabinet. Very happy from all of us, on behalf of the entire team, that we could do this for him. You saw how proud he was and how excited he was,” said the Indian captain. 

Despite his illustrious career, Dravid never won a World Cup as a player. He was part of the Indian team that reached the 2003 ODI World Cup final but fell to Australia. As captain in the 2007 ODI World Cup, India faced an early exit. Notably, he wasn’t part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad under MS Dhoni. 

As the team celebrated their hard-earned victory, Dravid's legacy was cemented further, not just as a player but as a coach who led India to new heights.