Kohli retires from T20 international cricket after leading India to their second T20 World Cup title at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Kohli scored 76 in the final against South Africa, securing a seven-run victory. This marked his last T20I match, ending his career as India’s second-highest run-scorer in the format with 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04. Kohli expressed gratitude for achieving his goal of winning an ICC tournament and highlighted the importance of the occasion in his performance.
Kohli retires from T20 international cricket
“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. 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 even if we’d lost,” Kohli said, confirming his retirement. “This was going to be my last T20 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 T20 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.
“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 as well, he’s played nine T20 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.
“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.
Kohli ended his 125-match T20I career as India’s second highest run-scorer in the format – 4188 at an average of 48.69 and strike rate of 137.04. He had endured a difficult T20 World Cup up until the semi-final – scoring only only 75 runs in seven innings before he made 76 off 59 balls in the final.
