Rohit bids farewell to the format as a two-time World Cup winner and leading run-getter, amassing 4,231 runs in 159 matches, including five hit centuries, the most by a men's T20I batsman. Biju George, former Indian women's fielding coach, believes it will be very difficult for anyone to take Rohit's place in the T20Is.
“It will be very difficult because people like Rohit Sharma are a throwback to the days of cricket when everything was art. Now it's like 99% science. “Scientists even measure what you drink and eat, as well as how you train.”
“But Rohit Sharma is a throwback to the game of classy cricket with all the glory and flaws of it. He doesn't look very fit, but he makes incredible catches. He doesn't look like he can move fast, but he is lightning fast on the field. He looks very soft, but he is tough. He is the best and we will certainly miss him,” George told IANS. Soon after the T20 World Cup triumph, Kohli was judged and said that this was his last T20I match of his. Kohli ends his T20I career as India's second highest run-scorer in this format, with 4188 runs in 125 games at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04.
“There were many people criticizing him on social media when he hit almost 28-30 runs and many said that he was going to make us lose the game. But they don't know what this guy is. “This guy is the best cricketer India has produced in white-ball cricket.”
“So no one can compare with Virat Kohli. You can see the stats and how he does it, and he gives you incredible energy on the field. He leads the team and we will certainly miss him,” added George, fielding coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL and WPL. Fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was India's most outstanding player in the competition and was declared 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 favorite, like scoring runs in tough situations. But it is the players who win the game, especially when the scores are low. Even if he does not bowl a single ball in white-ball cricket, Bumrah will be a legend forever.”
“If he decides I'm not going to play white-ball cricket anymore, that would be fair enough. No one can ever surpass what he has done. Not qualitatively, like maybe someone took more wickets. But the thing is, the way he gets wickets and the times he gets them, plus dismissing the best batsmen all the time, you can't match that,” George added. The T20 World Cup triumph was also a sweet redemption for vice-captain Hardik Pandya, who was ruled out midway through the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign due to an ankle injury. He was then booed mercilessly by the crowd during the IPL 2024 matches, which coincided with his lackluster overall and leadership performance for Mumbai Indians.
But Pandya recovered with aplomb to play a crucial role in India's T20 World Cup victory: he scored 144 runs at an average of 48 while picking 11 wickets with the ball and defending 16 runs in the all-important final to seal a victory. India. .
“In IPL he had a millstone around his neck: the captaincy of Mumbai Indians. When Rohit was dismissed or dumped and Hardik was bought, the crowd turned against him. That weight of that heavy transfer of money, everything fell on his shoulders. But when he plays for India, he is a cricketer who enjoys his craft. In the national setup, he is not someone who tries to prove that I am a good captain.” “He is a cricketer who does what he wants and knows that he has 10 other superheroes around him. In Mumbai Indians, if he fails, he has to face the owners, the public and everyone and he could be called X, Y, Z to all that. But in the Indian team, he had the license and backing to do whatever he wanted and, mainly, what only he can do,” George added.
He was also elated that Rahul Dravid ended his stint as coach with a trophy. “I wish he won all the Cups because he is a very nice person. I've interacted with him a lot over a period of time, and he's a very reassuring and amazing guy, as a player, as a gentleman, as a human, and as a coach. Very, very happy for him. Later his children will ask him: “Dad, what have you done as a coach?” Now he will be able to tell him that I also won the World Cup.”
George concluded by saying that the triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup will result in the resurgence of Indian cricket. “It started in 1983, then Dhoni gave us those cups in 2007 and 2011, and now this is the best there is. It is also a fitting farewell for Rohit, Virat, Jadeja and Dravid and I was very happy to see the team come together to win the title. “The evolution of this team can be directly related to the IPL as most of the players 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 the West Indies to South Africa, will react in a particular scenario. Luckily, we were playing on pitches that were almost like what we were used to playing in India. Also, Rohit’s strategy and captaincy were brilliant.”
“It will be very difficult because people like Rohit Sharma are a throwback to the days of cricket when everything was art. Now it's like 99% science. “Scientists even measure what you drink and eat, as well as how you train.”
“But Rohit Sharma is a throwback to the game of classy cricket with all the glory and flaws of it. He doesn't look very fit, but he makes incredible catches. He doesn't look like he can move fast, but he is lightning fast on the field. He looks very soft, but he is tough. He is the best and we will certainly miss him,” George told IANS. Soon after the T20 World Cup triumph, Kohli was judged and said that this was his last T20I match of his. Kohli ends his T20I career as India's second highest run-scorer in this format, with 4188 runs in 125 games at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04.
“There were many people criticizing him on social media when he hit almost 28-30 runs and many said that he was going to make us lose the game. But they don't know what this guy is. “This guy is the best cricketer India has produced in white-ball cricket.”
“So no one can compare with Virat Kohli. You can see the stats and how he does it, and he gives you incredible energy on the field. He leads the team and we will certainly miss him,” added George, fielding coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL and WPL. Fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was India's most outstanding player in the competition and was declared 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 favorite, like scoring runs in tough situations. But it is the players who win the game, especially when the scores are low. Even if he does not bowl a single ball in white-ball cricket, Bumrah will be a legend forever.”
“If he decides I'm not going to play white-ball cricket anymore, that would be fair enough. No one can ever surpass what he has done. Not qualitatively, like maybe someone took more wickets. But the thing is, the way he gets wickets and the times he gets them, plus dismissing the best batsmen all the time, you can't match that,” George added. The T20 World Cup triumph was also a sweet redemption for vice-captain Hardik Pandya, who was ruled out midway through the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign due to an ankle injury. He was then booed mercilessly by the crowd during the IPL 2024 matches, which coincided with his lackluster overall and leadership performance for Mumbai Indians.
But Pandya recovered with aplomb to play a crucial role in India's T20 World Cup victory: he scored 144 runs at an average of 48 while picking 11 wickets with the ball and defending 16 runs in the all-important final to seal a victory. India. .
“In IPL he had a millstone around his neck: the captaincy of Mumbai Indians. When Rohit was dismissed or dumped and Hardik was bought, the crowd turned against him. That weight of that heavy transfer of money, everything fell on his shoulders. But when he plays for India, he is a cricketer who enjoys his craft. In the national setup, he is not someone who tries to prove that I am a good captain.” “He is a cricketer who does what he wants and knows that he has 10 other superheroes around him. In Mumbai Indians, if he fails, he has to face the owners, the public and everyone and he could be called X, Y, Z to all that. But in the Indian team, he had the license and backing to do whatever he wanted and, mainly, what only he can do,” George added.
He was also elated that Rahul Dravid ended his stint as coach with a trophy. “I wish he won all the Cups because he is a very nice person. I've interacted with him a lot over a period of time, and he's a very reassuring and amazing guy, as a player, as a gentleman, as a human, and as a coach. Very, very happy for him. Later his children will ask him: “Dad, what have you done as a coach?” Now he will be able to tell him that I also won the World Cup.”
George concluded by saying that the triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup will result in the resurgence of Indian cricket. “It started in 1983, then Dhoni gave us those cups in 2007 and 2011, and now this is the best there is. It is also a fitting farewell for Rohit, Virat, Jadeja and Dravid and I was very happy to see the team come together to win the title. “The evolution of this team can be directly related to the IPL as most of the players 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 the West Indies to South Africa, will react in a particular scenario. Luckily, we were playing on pitches that were almost like what we were used to playing in India. Also, Rohit’s strategy and captaincy were brilliant.”
