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[Saba Sports News] Indian ODI team skipper Rohit Sharma recently discussed his retirement from T20 Internationals, sharing his thoughts on the transition and the future of Indian cricket.
Ahead of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Sharma provided insights into his mindset and the team’s direction under new T20 leadership.
Sharma announced his T20I retirement after India’s victory in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in June.
This marked the end of an era for one of India’s most successful T20 players, who was part of the inaugural T20 World Cup-winning team in 2007. The veteran batter admitted the reality of his T20I retirement hasn’t fully sunk in yet.
“Right now, it feels like I’ve just been rested for a series, like in the past, and that there will be big tournaments coming up, so I need to get ready for T20Is again. I don’t think I’m completely out,” he said at the pre-match press conference.
Sharma also spoke about the future of Indian T20 cricket under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, who led the team to a 3-0 series victory against Sri Lanka. “It’s early days for Surya as T20I captain. Good start, but let him do the job a bit more,” he added.
The series marks the return of veterans Sharma and Virat Kohli to the ODI squad for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final loss to Australia.
With India on the verge of achieving 100 ODI wins against Sri Lanka, a feat no team has accomplished against a single opponent, expectations are high for continued dominance in the 50-over format.