New Delhi, July 1 (IANS): Shortly after winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 as the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is. A few minutes before that, Virat Kohli also called it quits from the format after winning the 'Player-of-the-Match Award' for his 59-ball 76, with Ravindra Jadeja following their direction on Sunday.
Rohit signs off from the format as two-time World Cup-winner and the leading run-getter -– amassing 4231 runs in 159 matches, including five hitting centuries, the most by a men’s T20I batter. Biju George, the former India women’s fielding coach, feels it will be very hard for anyone who fills in Rohit’s shoes in T20Is.
“It will be very hard because people like Rohit Sharma are a throwback to the time of cricket when it was all about art. Now it's like 99% science. Even what you drink and eat is measured by the scientists, as well as how you train.”
“But Rohit Sharma is a throwback to playing elegant cricket with all its glory and flaws. He doesn't look super fit, but he takes amazing catches. He doesn't look like he can move quickly, but he's lightning-fast on the field. He looks very soft, but he's a toughie. He's the best guy, and we'll certainly miss him,” said George to IANS.
Shortly after the T20 World Cup triumph, Kohli was adjudged and said this was his last T20I game. Kohli ends his T20I career as India's second-highest run-scorer in the format, through 4188 runs in 125 games at an average of 48.69 and strike rate of 137.04.
“There were a lot of people criticising him on social media when he was batting at almost 28-30 runs and many said he was going to lose us the match. But they don't know what this guy is. This guy is the best-ever cricketer India has produced in white-ball cricket.”
“So nobody can compare with Virat Kohli. You can see the stats, and how he goes about it, and he gives you amazing energy on the field. He drives the team, and will also be certainly missed,” added George, the Delhi Capitals’ fielding coach in IPL and WPL.
Fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was the standout performer for India in the competition, and was adjudged Player of the Tournament for picking 15 wickets at an average of just 8.26, and a remarkable economy rate of 4.17.
“I thought he (Bumrah) should have been the Man of the Match. Virat Kohli is always the perennial favourite like scoring runs in tough situations. But it's the bowlers who win you the match, especially when the scores are low. Even if he doesn't bowl a single ball in white-ball cricket, Bumrah is a legend forever.”
“If he decides I'm not going to play any more white-ball cricket, it would be fair enough. Nobody will ever be able to beat what he has done. Not in a qualitative manner, like maybe somebody will go around and take more wickets. But the thing is, the way he gets the wickets and the times he gets his wickets, as well as of dismissing the top batters all the time, that can’t be matched,” added George.
The T20 World Cup triumph was also sweet redemption for vice-captain Hardik Pandya, who was ruled out mid-way through the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign due to an ankle injury. He was then mercilessly booed by crowds during IPL 2024 matches, which coincided with his lacklustre all-round and leadership returns for Mumbai Indians.
But Pandya bounced back with aplomb to play a crucial role in India's T20 World Cup win - scoring 144 runs at an average of 48 while picking 11 wickets with the ball, and defending 16 runs in the all-important final over to seal an Indian victory.
“In IPL, he was carrying a millstone around his neck - the captaincy of Mumbai Indians. When Rohit was removed or dumped and Hardik was bought in, the crowd turned against him. That weight of that heavy money transfer, everything was on his shoulder. But when playing for India, he is a cricketer who is enjoying his trade. In the national set-up, he is not someone trying to prove that I am a good captain.”
“He is a cricketer doing what he wants to do and knows that he has got another 10 superheroes around him. In Mumbai Indians, if he fails, he has to face the owners, the public, and everybody and could be called from X, Y, Z to whatnot. But in the Indian team, he had the license and backing to do whatever he wanted to do and mainly, what only he can do,” added George.
He was also elated over Rahul Dravid finishing his coaching stint with a trophy. “I wish that he won all the Cups because he is such a nice person. I have interacted with him a lot, over a period of time, and he’s a very reassuring and amazing guy - as a player, gentleman, human, and coach. So, very, very happy for him. His sons will ask him down the line, ‘Papa, what you have done as a coach’? Now he can tell him that I won the World Cup too.”
George signed off by saying the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph will result in the resurgence of Indian cricket. “Like, it started in 1983, then Dhoni gave us those cups in 2007 and 2011, and now this is as good as it gets. It's also a befitting farewell for Rohit, Virat, Jadeja, and Dravid, and I was just really happy to see the team come together to win the title.”
“This team’s evolution can be directly related to IPL - like most of the Indian cricketers are exposed to the latest training methods, and trends in T20 cricket. They know inside and out how an opposing player from Bangladesh to West Indies to South Africa will react under a particular scenario. Luckily, we played on wickets which were almost like we were used to playing in India. Also, the strategy and captaincy of Rohit was brilliant.”