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Indian cricketer Virat Kohli announced his retirement from T20 format cricket after winning the Man of the Match title by hitting 76 runs in 59 balls in the World Cup. With the significant contribution of Kohli, India was able to set a target of 177, the highest ever in a T20 World Cup final.
NEW DELHI: Indian cricketer Virat Kohli announced his retirement from T20 format cricket after winning the Man of the Match title by hitting 76 runs in 59 balls in the World Cup. With the significant contribution of Kohli, India was able to set a target of 177, the highest ever in a T20 World Cup final.
Kohli thanked God for his performance today. He said, “I wasn’t 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.”
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Looking disappointed with his previous performances in the tournament, Kohli said, “Great lesson for me. If you think you are everything and can do wonders, you are nothing. You 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.”
While his earlier words suggest he may have become overly confident in previous games, in the last match, thanks to God, he was composed and in form. He added, “Today I just felt different. I was more anchored, more in sync with the situation. And I was given the composure to put aside everything that had gone on until now. As a senior player, people look to you to contribute and help win a World Cup. Rohit and I have spoken many times before that before we depart, we need to win in this format. You can’t imagine these things in your wildest dreams.”
Announcing his retirement, he said, “This is my last T20 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.”
On Kohli’s retirement, cricketer Rohit Sharma said, “He’s been a champion player without a doubt. We all know what he has done for us. At some point, everyone has to say goodbye to the game, and Virat was very clear that this is what he wanted to do.”
Rohit, 37, and Kohli, 35, are number one and two respectively on the all-time list of T20 international run-scorers. Both men will continue to be available for India in Tests and one-day internationals.
