Virat Kohli Declared His Retirement from T20I Cricket Following India's Victory Over South Africa in the T20I World Cup 2024 Final

Read the complete news blog that includes the details of Virat Kohli’s retirement declaration on the final match of the T20I Men’s World Cup 2024 against South Africa. 

Virat Kohli’s Retirement from the T20I World Cup

Virat Kohli is an amazing Indian top-order batter and former Indian skipper. He played international matches for the Indian team in different formats. He recently announced his retirement from the T20I format on 29th June 2024 after the game against South Africa. He debuted in the T20I format on 12 June 2010 in a match against Zimbabwe.

Virat Kohli’s Retirement Announcement

Virat Kohli has played 125 T20I matches throughout his career and scored a total of 4188 runs. His average was 48.69 with a strike rate of 137.04. He is the second-highest scorer in the T20I format. In his retirement declaration, he stated:

"This was my last T20I World Cup and this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. This is an amazing game, I was telling Rohit today when we went out to bat that one day you feel like you can't get a run, and then you come out and things happen. God is great. I bow my head in gratitude. I'm really grateful was able to get the job done for the team when it mattered the most,”

He added:

"This is my last T20I game playing for India, my last World Cup I was going to play. I wanted to make the most of it. And this was our aim. We wanted to win an ICC tournament, we wanted to lift the cup. As I said, it was the occasion that helped me put my head down and respect the situation rather than trying to force things out there, and play the game my team wanted me to play."Yes, I have. This was an open secret, it was not something that I was not going to announce if we'd lost." 

He talked about his retirement and said that the next generation will take over. 

"This was going to be my last T20I World Cup playing for India, it's time for the next generation to take over. Two-year cycle, there are some amazing players playing in India, they're going to take the team forward in the T20I format, and do wonders as we've seen them do in the IPL. I've no doubts they'll keep the flag waving high, and really take this team further from here now."

He said that he and Rohit have been waiting for a long to win an ICC tournament and shared his opinion about the Indian Captain Rohit Sharma. 

"Look, it's been a long wait for us, waiting to win an ICC tournament. It's not just me alone, you look at someone like Rohit [Sharma, the captain] as well. He's played nine T20I World Cups, this is my sixth. So he deserves it as much as anyone else in the squad, we're just happy we were able to get the job done, and really it's hard to explain the emotions I felt after the game, I knew what kind of mindset I was in. I wasn't really confident in the last few games, I wasn't feeling really good out there, but when god has to bless you with something, he blesses you in ways you can't imagine. That's why I'm very grateful and humbled right now and I bow my head.”

Also Read: Rohit Sharma Declared His Retirement from T20I Cricket Following India's Victory Over South Africa in the T20I World Cup 2024 Final

He mentioned his emotions related to the game and stated during an interview with Star Sports:

"It's really difficult to hold things back, it's going to sink in a little later, and the emotions are going to come to the surface a little later more, but it's just an amazing day, I couldn't be more thankful. To be honest, I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dreams, also considering how my tournament had gone so far."

He also talked about the lesson he learned from his experience as a player. 

"Great lesson for me, really humbled by the game big time. Put my head down and ego on the side. If you think you are everything and can do wonders, you are nothing. You really have to put your head down, and respect the situation. And God showed me that if you get too ahead of yourself, then I will pull you back and I will keep you in your spot. Today I just felt different. I was more anchored, more in-sync with the situation. And I was given the composure to just put aside everything that had gone on till now.”

He ended the announcement and mentioned: 

“You are a senior player and people look at you to contribute and to win a World Cup. Rohit and I have spoken many times previously that before we go, we need to win in this format. You can't imagine these things in your wildest dreams."

Conclusion

This was a heartbreaking announcement for the fans of Kohli as he will not play any T20I format game in the future after he retires from this format. If you liked the details, bookmark our site.