Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to feature in the T20 World Cup for the 9th and 6th time respectively. As India begins its quest to lift a World Cup trophy, could this be Rohit Sharma and Kohli’s last chance to get their hands on the silverware. The ball for the 9th edition of the T20 World Cup 2024 is set to get rolling, and with it looms a big question: could this be the final hurrah for veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Rohit Sharma is currently in the USA with the Indian contingent, preparing for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.
The burning desire within Rohit-Kohli to win T20I world cup
Big tournaments thrive on experience. The calmness and leadership of seasoned players like Rohit Sharma and Kohli can prove to be invaluable in high-pressure situations. There is a burning desire within both the players to win a major ICC trophy, something that has evaded the Indian team since 2013. The hunger to rewrite that narrative and leave a legacy could fuel these 2 players to give their everything in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Kohli seems to be at the best of his forms in T20 cricket, having scored 741 runs with a strike rate of 154.69 in the Indian Premier League 2024. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma , a seasoned T20 captain with a knack for handling pressure situations with a calm demeanor, could prove to be beneficial for the team.
Both Rohit Sharma and Kohli are seasoned campaigners, having made 8 and 5 appearances respectively in the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma, along with Shakib-al-Hasan remain to be the only players to have played all the 9 editions since 2007. The 20-year-old Rohit Sharma played a brilliant cameo of 30 runs in 16 balls during the final against Pakistan in India’s bid to win the final.
But, cut to the present, he will be leading in the tournament for the 2nd time. Meanwhile, Kohli has been India’s highest-run scorer in the T20I World Cup since 2014 and has been the nation’s force to be reckoned with.
Veteran Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan shared a throwback picture with his long-term teammate Rohit Sharma. The duo opened the innings for India during the last decade and ended up as one of the best opening pairs in ODI cricket history.
“Nice old memories” – Shikhar Dhawan shares a throwback picture with Rohit Sharma ahead of T20I WC.
Veteran Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan shared a throwback picture with his long-term teammate Rohit Sharma. The duo opened the innings for India during the last decade and ended up as one of the best opening pairs in ODI cricket history.
Between 2013 and 2022, the two opened the innings for Men in Blue in 115 ODIs and scored 5148 runs together at an average of 45.55, including 18 hundred and 15 half-century partnerships. Only three other pairs have scored more runs than them in ODI cricket. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, with 6609 runs, are at the top position on the list.
Dhawan took to his official Instagram handle and shared an old picture of himself with Rohit Sharma to give fans a glimpse of their bond. He captioned the post:
“Nice old memories.”
Rohit Sharma is currently in the USA with the Indian contingent, preparing for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan has been out of the reckoning for selection in the Indian squads across formats over the past two years. He has also missed most of IPL 2024 in April and May due to a shoulder injury.
Shikhar Dhawan gives an update about his injury: “I have not recovered 100 percent yet”
During a recent interview with ANI, Shikhar Dhawan opened up about his shoulder injury, which forced him to miss most of the Punjab Kings’ IPL 2024 matches. He said:
“Unfortunately I got injured this IPL season and could not play for Punjab except for 4-5 matches. It takes time to recover. I am still healing. I have not recovered 100 percent yet.”
On his retirement plans, the southpaw added:
“I am also going through a transition ‘Jahan Meri Cricket Vishram Pe Aayegi’ (Where my cricket will arrive at a resting phase) and a new chapter in my life will start. You only have a certain age till you can play. It could be one year more, two years more, or xyz for me.”
Succeeded by all-rounder Hardik Pandya from the Mumbai Indians captaincy post, veteran opener Rohit will lead the Kohli-starrer Team India at the T20 World Cup days after the end of the Indian Premier League season 2024. With Hardik as Rohit’s deputy, senior Indian opener Dhawan feels India have named a balanced squad for the grandest stage – the ICC World Cup. India plays their first match vs Ireland on 5th June and will look to start on the winning note in their campaign.