India’s captain retires as the highest run-scorer in T20Is.
After India clinched a thrilling victory against South Africa in the World Cup final in Barbados, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20 international cricket, joining Virat Kohli in stepping away from the format. Rohit expressed his commitment to continue playing ODIs and Tests, stating at the press conference, ‘This was my last T20I game as well. It feels like the right time to bid farewell to this format. From the start of my career with India, T20Is have been special to me. Winning this World Cup was a cherished goal. Words can’t fully describe the emotions; it was a deeply moving moment. This title meant a lot to me personally, and I’m glad we achieved it.
Rohit Sharma, who leaves T20 internationals as their highest scorer with 4231 runs in 159 matches, also holds the record for the most centuries (five) in T20Is. He achieved significant milestones, winning two T20 World Cup titles: the inaugural one as a player in 2007 and the recent one as captain in 2024.
The retirements of Rohit and Kohli from T20Is were somewhat anticipated. Following India’s semi-final defeat in the 2022 T20 World Cup, both players had refrained from participating in T20Is until resuming earlier this year, focusing on the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Rohit ended the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer, accumulating 257 runs at a strike rate of 156.70 despite challenging batting conditions in the USA and the West Indies. Renowned for his aggressive batting style, he played pivotal roles in securing crucial victories for India, notably with match-winning half-centuries against Australia in the Super Eight stage and England in the semi-finals.
Stats – T20 Internationals
Batting (T20 Internationals):
- Innings: 151
- Not Outs: 19
- Aggregate: 4231
- Highest Score: 121*
- Average: 32.05
- Median: 15.00
- 30s: 16
- 50s: 32
- 100s: 5
- Ducks: 12
- 4s: 383
- 6s: 204
- Balls Faced: 3004
- Scoring Rate: 140.85
- Opened Batting: 124
- Top Scored in Innings: 38
- % of Team Runs Scored: 16.78
Bowling:
- Balls: 68
- Maidens: 0
- Runs Conceded: 113
- Wickets: 1
- Average: 113.00
- 3 Wickets in Innings: 0
- 4 Wickets in Innings: 0
- 5 Wickets in Innings: 0
- Best: 1/22
- Economy Rate: 9.97
- Strike Rate: 68.00
- % of Team Wickets Taken: 0.10
Fielding:
- Catches: 65
- Most Catches in Innings: 3
Captaincy:
- Matches/Won/Lost: 62/50/12
- Tosses Won: 32 (51.61%)
- Chose to Field/Won/Lost: 23/20/3
- Runs Scored: 1905
- Batting Average: 34.02