Virat Kohli announces retirement from T20Is after Team India wins the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy

Ace Team India batter Virat Kohli announced that he does not wish to be in contention for the shortest format from now on and bows out of the arena with the 2024 T20 World Cup title. The Men in Blue secured the title with a historic seven-run win over South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Kohli stepped up for Team India when it mattered the most, scoring a match-winning 76 runs off 59 deliveries. The right-handed batter had a forgettable campaign up until the final but turned things around when the rest of the top order crumbled in the powerplay.

Kohli mentioned that he wishes to pave the way for the upcoming generation when it comes to the shortest format, and as a result, he will not play the 2026 T20 World Cup on home soil.

"This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you can't get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation. This was my last T20 game playing for India.

"We wanted to lift that cup. Wanted to Yes I have, this was an open secret. Not something that I wasn't going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward," Kohli said in the post-match presentation after being adjudged player of the match.

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Virat Kohli's spot in the T20 World Cup squad was under scanner

There were doubts over how Kohli would adapt to the modern approach and there was criticism surrounding his potential inclusion in the squad during the build-up to the event. He managed to prove that he is fit in the current Indian brand of cricket with a stellar IPL 2024 season with RCB.

Even in the T20 World Cup campaign, he struggled to get going at the top of the order. Now, with young openers like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill waiting on the sidelines, Kohli has bowed out perhaps at the right time.