India skipper Rohit Sharma retires from T20Is after World Cup triumph
Bridgetown (PTI): India skipper Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20 Internationals after guiding the team to its second World Cup in the format, describing it as the perfect time to "say goodbye".
This was after his long-time teammate Virat Kohli brought down curtains on his fabled career minutes after India defeated South Africa by seven runs at the Kensington Oval in the final.
"This was my last game as well. No better time to say goodbye. I wanted this (trophy) badly. It's very hard to put in words," Rohit told the post-match press conference.
"This what I wanted and it happened. I was very desperate for this in my life. Happy that we crossed the line this time," he added.
The 37-year-old had led India in the 2022 T20 World Cup where the team was ousted in the semifinals by eventual champions England.
A year later, India reached the final of the 50-over World Cup at home under his leadership, but succumbed to Australia in the summit clash at Ahmedabad.
Rohit leaves T20Is with 4231 runs from 159 matches, having made five hundreds and 32 fifties. He continues to be active in the Test and ODI formats.
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Rain washes out Super Eights match between New Zealand and Pakistan
Pallekele (Sri Lanka) (PTI): New Zealand and Pakistan shared a point after incessant rain forced the abandonment of the opening T20 World Cup Group 2 Super Eights match here on Saturday.
Amid a slight drizzle, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
But the steady droplets soon transformed into relentless pouring, forcing the officials to call off the match without a ball being bowled.
Before the skies opened up, Pakistan made one change to their eleven, bringing in Fakhar Zaman in place of Khawaja Nafay.
New Zealand made three changes with skipper Mitchell Santner back after missing the last match against Canada due to a stomach issue and Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi also found a place in the XI.
But all those calculations and combinations will have to wait for another day, as Pakistan will now face England here on February 24.
New Zealand will make a light travel to Colombo to face home side Sri Lanka on February 25.
The washout has also placed both the Kiwis and Pakistan in a relatively tighter place ahead of their remaining two Super Eights matches.
A similar result in any of the following matches, a possibility considering Sri Lanka’s weather pattern, or a defeat can put their semifinal ambitions in serious jeopardy.
