Veteran India star Rohit Sharma has too much load on his back. The baggage in fact consists of more failures in terms of ICC trophies than the upsides. The Hitman, who was back then one of the youngest in the sides, was a part of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 which India emerged victorious led by the legendary MS Dhoni.
Rohit Sharma’s last dance ft. T20 World Cup 2024
Since then, Sharma has hardly managed to get his hands on an ICC trophy – both as skipper and player. The 2019 semi-final exit in the World Cup, thanks to the rain gods and the turn of fate – overshadowed the Hitman’s outstanding performance through the tourney – perhaps one of the best phases of Rohit that one could ever see.
The setback only solidified Rohit Sharma to bounce back stronger. He was handed over the reigns of the Indian team, thus having to fill in Virat Kohli’s shoes. While the heartbreak first started with the loss at the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, it was doubled when Sharma-led India lost the World Cup 2023 despite a clean sheet in terms of losses.
In 148 T20Is, Sharma has 3853 runs to his name, averaging 31.32. The Hitman holds the record of most hundreds in T20Is, with 4 to his name. He tops the chart for the most sixes (182) in the shortest format – something that will come to use for the side in the shortest format in the small grounds of USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
Putting that heartbreak behind, the Indian opener has now set his eyes on what could be the grand end to his studded career – the T20 World Cup. Although Sharma’s T20 figures aren’t that great in the shortest format, the Hitman is indeed the best man to lead India, simply in terms of pure experience. The unfamiliarity of the pitches in the Caribbean, the USA and Canada with the Indian players will only compound without the presence of Sharma.
For Rohit himself, this is the one last time he can prove himself as a skipper and as a player by lifting an ICC trophy. A decade after he was a part of his last ICC trophy win, Sharma could potentially end his T20I career on a high note by winning the T20 World Cup 2024.
The road to the Hitman’s journey to the World Cup begins with the IND vs AFG T20I series, commencing from January 11 where Sharma will be back as the skipper. This series also marks the start of India’ preparations for the World Cup and will certainly set the tone for months to come. While the big audition stage for the WC will be IPL 2024, it is essential for Sharma to be in top form, starting from the Afghanistan series, in order to have the grand exit in July that he should be speculating about.
Further, the return of Sharma as the leader of the pack for the IND vs AFG series indicates that he would certainly be the skipper for the side at the WC, if not for a miracle. This provides the perfect exit for the Hitman from the T20s – a befitting captain with a good record and five IPL trophies to his name. This could very well be Rohit Sharma’s last dance indeed.
