Virat Kohli announces retirement from T20 Internationals, says "this was my last"

The country is currently echoing with the chants of ‘India India’ as the team brings home the trophy by winning the ICC T20 World Cup  2024 against South Africa. But while there is a vibe of victory and valour all around, it was man of the match Virat Kohli who broke the news about him retiring from the T20 format for team India and that this was his last T20 match with the Indian squad and it was all worth it. 

Virat Kohli scored 76 runs in 59 balls creating a huge impact for the game. While talking with the presenter Virat said, “This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you can't get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation. This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup.”

When asked if he made an announcement, he said, "Yes I have, this was an open secret. Not something that I wasn't going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward. It's been a long wait for us, waiting to win an ICC tournament. You look at someone like Rohit, he's played 9 T20 World Cups and this is my sixth. He deserves it. It's been difficult to hold things (emotions) back and I think it's going to sink in later. It's an amazing day and I'm thankful."

Indian bowlers, particularly Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh, remained composed under pressure, helping India secure a thrilling win and break their 11-year ICC trophy drought. India won the T20 World Cup for the second time in history by defeating South Africa by 7 runs.