India skipper Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20Is after India T20 World Cup 2024 win over South Africa while addressing the media after the match and went on to laud Virat Kohli for his stellar career. Kohli also announced his retirement from T20Is. Rohit Sharma also acknowledged Rahul Dravid, the outgoing coach, saying he deserved the title more than any one else.
If you are asked one factor that led to the emergence of the champions – what would it be? And also – how was it to gift this victory to Rahul Dravid?
HE – more than any one of us, I think he deserved that trophy. What he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20-25 years, I think this was the only thing that was left in his cabinet. I am very happy from all of us on behalf of the entire team that we could actually do this for him. You saw how proud he was and how excited he was. Really grateful to the occasion for this to happen as well.
In a game like this, there are a lot of turnarounds. I cannot single out one or two aspects of the game, but looking at where the game was when four or five overs were left, obviously that wicket of Klassen when Hardik took that wicket, that was actually very crucial from our point of view. And then again, Miller’s wicket at the back in the last over, that catch of Surya of Hardik’s bowling was again superb.
But again, you can’t forget What the batters did with the bat, Virat getting that runs, Axar playing that part, and then eventually us finishing off with the score that we finished. And then obviously when we started with the ball, Bumrah, Arshdeep were superb. I don’t know how much I can talk about Bumrah. Obviously, we’ve been seeing this with him for such a long time now. Whenever he has ball in hands, he tends to create magic for us every time. I am very lucky to have players like this in my squad. Players who are playing for me and Team India. Really, really grateful, and thankful as well.
Congratulations and you have had so many moments of glory in your career and disappointments also 2007 and 2008 CB series, 2013 and Australia Test series. Of course, 2011 you could not be part of the World Cup and of course Ahmedabad. Looking back, all these things, do you consider this as the greatest moment of your career? And second, 30 of 30 balls and 6 wickets, how could you motivate the players to, you can pull it off?
This has to be the greatest time I can say that. It’s only because how desperately I wanted to win this. So, all the runs, all the runs that I’ve scored in all these years, I think it does matter, but I’m not big on stats and all of that. I think winning games for India, winning trophies for India, that is what I look forward to all the time. And having this now right beside me probably has to be, I don’t know, honestly, I don’t know if it’s the greatest or what but it is definitely one of the greatest, I can say that – and when I have to look back at certain moments in the game as well, they were really playing well.
Halfway through, we were very much in the game. And then the next five overs didn’t go our way. Klaassen and Miller actually took it on. De Kock played his part as well. But we know what they are capable of with the bat. We do understand that. But again, the message was very loud and clear to everyone that until the last ball of the game is bowled, the game is not over. Because that’s what happens in cricket and you’ve got to believe that. And my job as a captain is to make everyone believe that.
Every time we had the ball in hand, whether we got wickets or we didn’t get wickets, we wanted to keep fighting. Keep fighting whether we are ahead in the game or behind in the game, we wanted to keep fighting because the moments like this will never come again. This is the final. So, you have to give everything that you have inside your body, mind, and everything.
And that is what the message was to everyone that let everything out, put whatever you have in your body, mind, put it in front of us and let’s see then what happens. And I thought the belief that everyone had till the last ball was bowled was to keep fighting. Even though we were behind in the game after 15 overs when they required just 30-odd runs in 5 or 4 overs, the belief was still there. We wanted to fight, we wanted to fight and then eventually we managed to cross the line.
Rohit, since coming to the West Indies, India has batted first in all previous games coming into the final. Was that like a templated thing, or you thought the conditions deserved that? Or did you think scoreboard pressure mattered in the final? Or did all of this contribute to batting first here also?
I think I’m a believer of just having runs on the board in big games. That’s how my mind works. It is not necessary that everyone thinks like that in the team. But I have a decision to make and I made it very clear that no matter how the pitch is, whatever it is, we have to try and put runs on the board and then fight it out. You have the talent in your bowling and I have seen what the guys have done with the ball. So, I had that confidence that whatever score we have, we can try and defend it. And that’s exactly what happened as well.
I know the result came in our favour, but even though if the result didn’t come in our favour, I would have still completely backed the decision of batting first. Although I thought the pitch really played well, throughout the 40 overs the pitch was really good. It didn’t grip as such which we really thought it would after the first half, with the sun beating down so hard, there is no grass on the pitch, it looks a lot drier. But obviously a lot of rolling water must have gone in there to make it nice and hard. But yeah, that was the thought and we were very clear with that decision as well, that we want to put runs on the board and try and defend it later.
I wanted to ask you about Virat Kohli announcing his retirement today. How do you look back at his journey? You’ve shared some of the most ups and downs with him, your moments with him. Just how do you look back at all of it?
Look, he’s been a champion player without a doubt. And 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 and he was very clear before the start of the tournament as well. I am very happy for him that he batted like he did in the finals. I know the quality that he has, the big games and all of that. He is going to come good. When we wanted him the most, he came out and performed the way he did. So very happy looking at his career. Obviously, he’s been a champion player. We know, we can see the stats and everything there. But, yeah, nice way to sign off from this format.
There was a lot of confusion in the last few tournaments, but we were consistently knocking on the other side. Was it difficult to have faith in good people? It’s important to be good, whether it’s you, the team, Rahul Dravid. Is it important, Rahul?
It is important. I believe that what is written is going to happen. I think it was written. But obviously you don’t know before the match that this is written. This is the game. Otherwise, we would have easily come and said, it’s written. I think everything has to fall in place. As you saw, we were way behind the game. At one point, it seemed like they would win easily. The wicket was running well, they were batting well. The options that I had to use, Bumrah’s over in the 18th over was over.
So, it was important to fit in the plan. And as you said, it’s good to be with good people. I mean, you said it, so I’m good. And Rahul bhai too. Rahul bhai too. No, no, he’s good. I’m very happy for Rahul bhai too. He’s done so much for Indian cricket. That’s what Rahul Bhai means. He has worked hard with this team for the last 3 years. His instincts were suppressed many times.
Because it is not easy to match the wavelength of the boys. So, Rahul bhai suppressed himself. He understood what the boys wanted. He put that priority ahead. So, it is not easy for anyone to do all this. Rahul bhai did that for the whole team. He understood what the boys needed, what is necessary to give to the boys. Because eventually we have to do the work, Rahul is not batting.
We were constantly talking to them about what was happening in the team, what was being discussed, when you can join the team, what role you will play if you do. Rahul is a studious person, so He was the first one to take care of this when he came. We have to tell the boys what we want from them. 11 out of 11 people are a force. If we play together, we can become a big force. Rahul supported me a lot in that regard, and supported the team a lot.
You have spoken in bits and pieces about the last three overs. We almost died in the press box. But I would like you to go through those three overs in the end and what was the talk that was going on and how was Hardik being motivated in the last over?
I think see, the talk, strategy wise it was very simple to try and make them hit on the other side of the wind because the wind was blowing across the ground quite rapidly and it was the average, I don’t know how much the average wind per hour and all of that was, but it was quite heavy. So, the plan was to make them hit on the other side of the ground.
And then obviously when Bumrah came to bowl that 18th over, as much as we wanted the wicket, we wanted to build that pressure as well on the opposition by bowling dot balls. So, I had to get the fielders in the right place, getting the straighter fielders in, standing in front of the square, because I thought the nature of the wicket didn’t allow batters to hit square of the pitch as much.
It was easy to hit down the ground and with Bumrah’s angle, with the reverse swing coming in play a little bit as well. We knew that if we can keep stumps in play as much as possible, the runs will be hard to come by as well. And if they make mistake by not getting the bat right where the ball is, there is a chance we can get a wicket as well.
And Bumrah nearly knocked Miller off in the first ball, which he missed. And then he got wicket off Marcus there. So that was crucial for us. That over was crucial and then followed up greatly by Arshdeep as well. He gave a three-over run, bowled a three-over run. And then in the end, it was 16 or 17 required.
And then the plan was to just slightly go outside of Miller’s arc, don’t give him any hands. And yeah, Surya took a brilliant catch there. And then, obviously, it was just to bowl full to the other batters, not to give them any elevation. And it was very nice to see that Hardik was very calm as well. No matter how many runs are required, you still have to bowl that over and bowl it well as well. For him to bowl that over and getting that crucial wicket of Miller also was very important from a team’s standpoint.
That catch of Surya, if you can just go through the emotions of him taking that catch and that weight and do you think kind of this catch is on a par with Kapil’s 83 catches?
No, whatever is good, if it was so good in 83, then keep it there. It was a great catch. This is also our catch. In hindsight, if you look at it, every moment that happens, it has its own charm, own way. So, I don’t like to compare it. I am not a big comparison fan. I was standing at long off so I could clearly see Surya there and he is very calm under pressure. He has got brilliant hands. The moment he took that catch; I knew that he’s inside. I was very calm. I mean, you could see I was celebrating already. But still, until the scoreboard says out, it’s not out yet. But I knew that it was an out. And I started already thinking about the other five balls that We have to bowl to the other batters
And Rohit like on your own international Do you think you will be there for a while longer? Like, how do you see yourself?
No, no, this was my last game as well. No, honestly, I’ve enjoyed since the time I started playing this format. And nothing better time to say goodbye to this format. I’ve loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. And this is what I wanted. I wanted to win the cup and say thank you.
Is that just T20s just to check? Yeah. Just T20s international?
Yeah.
What, when you sunk to your knees at the end, what was going through your head at that point? When you dropped to your knees at the end after the final ball, what was –
Oh yeah, it was very emotional. I wanted this badly. So, it’s very hard to put it in words because that moment, I don’t want to say what I was thinking and what was going in my mind, but it was a very emotional moment personally for me. And I’m going to, I wish I could capture that moment myself but not really, you can’t do that but I will always remember that. Yeah, those are the moments you wait for and then you don’t plan these things, it just happens because you’re so desperate for certain things in life and I was very desperate for this in my life so happy that we eventually crossed the line this time.
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