Indian team Skipper Rohit Sharma said he will stop playing T20 matches after leading the team to win the T20 World Cup in 2024. India won a very close game against South Africa in the final, beating them by seven runs and claiming their second T20 World Cup victory.
Following the game, Virat and Rohit both said they were leaving the T20 international matches, ending their successful time in this type of game. Now, Rohit’s old coach from when he was a kid, Dinesh Lad, has shared his thoughts on the Indian team skipper’s choice to stop playing the shortest type of cricket in a talk with India TV.
“Rohit’s decision to retire from T20Is is a good decision. The younger players should get their opportunities. His next target is the World Test Championship now,” Lad said in an interview with India TV.
The cricket coach explained how Rohit faced a difficult period in 2011 when he wasn’t chosen for the One Day International World Cup. The coach mentioned that Rohit was very surprised by this decision, but he taught him an important lesson. “When Rohit wasn’t picked for the 2011 ODI World Cup team, he was really surprised. I told him that if he didn’t spend time improving his cricket, people would stop remembering him. He promised me that he would work hard and not give anyone a reason to be unhappy with him. From that point on, he has continuously improved,” the coach remembered.
Lad was very happy to see Rohit achieve great success in cricket. “I’m really glad to see that the 12-year-old boy is now holding the World Cup. He has shown that where you come from doesn’t matter if you have talent. Rohit has worked very hard and has deservedly gained success,” Lad said.
Rohit has created a strong history in T20 cricket. He has played more T20 international matches than anyone else, with 159 games. Rohit is also the top scorer in this format with 4231 runs. He was the first captain to win 50 T20 international matches with his team.
