Soon after India beat South Africa by seven runs to clinch their second T20 World Cup title at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and ended a 13-year drought for a world championship title, Kohli and Rohit retired from the format, followed by Jadeja. the same route on Sunday.
Both Rohit and Virat had been the fulcrum of the Indian batting line-up for over a decade, while Jadeja was the reliable spin bowling all-rounder. The rapid retirements of the trio give India room to test players and see who are the best options for a solid combination for the T20 World Cup 2026, which they are supposed to co-host along with Sri Lanka.
But the riches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and a strong domestic system mean India has a good group of T20 players to see who can fill the huge shoes of Rohit, Virat and Jadeja. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was part of the World Cup-winning unit in Barbados, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma are the next opening options.
The four players are part of India's squad for the five-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe from July 6-14. India also has a T20I series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and England until February 2025, giving the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee ample space to try out various combinations and other players in the fray.
“If you look at the team that will be touring Zimbabwe, there is a lot of talent there. From Shubham Gill to Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Sanju Samson. So the Indian team is going to dominate well.”
“Also, there will be many retirements across the cricket world after this World Cup, and India will be the least affected. Therefore, we are going to dominate as for the next 5-6 years there will be no competition,” Biju George, former India women's field coach, told IANS.
Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Indian youth team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup in Johannesburg, told IANS that the youngsters are there to fill the vacant spots in the team, but felt that it will take time for them to grow into their big shoes. . the playing eleven.
“There will be challenges because you have lost your top three: Rohit, Virat and Jadeja. But there will be someone who will accept the challenge of replacing them because we have many young people coming.”
“We have people like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill on the sidelines, who have to take the lead. It will be difficult for anyone to take his place immediately. But I am sure that, over time, there will definitely be some new players who will replace those three.”
In all likelihood, Jadeja's retirement from T20Is means Axar Patel becomes the team's main spin bowling all-rounder. In the T20 World Cup, Axar outclassed Jadeja with bat, ball and in the field to prove that he is now good enough to be an automatic starter in India's format after many years of being the veteran's backup.
“With the retirement of Jadeja, Axar will have a longer duration in the format. Some of the other left-hand spinners should feature as well. It's time. Those three have been there and done that. Let them enjoy playing the rest of the time cricket – IPL or other formats. I wish they would play a bit more domestic cricket,” concluded George, who is the fielding coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL and WPL.
Both Rohit and Virat had been the fulcrum of the Indian batting line-up for over a decade, while Jadeja was the reliable spin bowling all-rounder. The rapid retirements of the trio give India room to test players and see who are the best options for a solid combination for the T20 World Cup 2026, which they are supposed to co-host along with Sri Lanka.
But the riches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and a strong domestic system mean India has a good group of T20 players to see who can fill the huge shoes of Rohit, Virat and Jadeja. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was part of the World Cup-winning unit in Barbados, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma are the next opening options.
The four players are part of India's squad for the five-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe from July 6-14. India also has a T20I series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and England until February 2025, giving the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee ample space to try out various combinations and other players in the fray.
“If you look at the team that will be touring Zimbabwe, there is a lot of talent there. From Shubham Gill to Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Sanju Samson. So the Indian team is going to dominate well.”
“Also, there will be many retirements across the cricket world after this World Cup, and India will be the least affected. Therefore, we are going to dominate as for the next 5-6 years there will be no competition,” Biju George, former India women's field coach, told IANS.
Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Indian youth team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup in Johannesburg, told IANS that the youngsters are there to fill the vacant spots in the team, but felt that it will take time for them to grow into their big shoes. . the playing eleven.
“There will be challenges because you have lost your top three: Rohit, Virat and Jadeja. But there will be someone who will accept the challenge of replacing them because we have many young people coming.”
“We have people like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill on the sidelines, who have to take the lead. It will be difficult for anyone to take his place immediately. But I am sure that, over time, there will definitely be some new players who will replace those three.”
In all likelihood, Jadeja's retirement from T20Is means Axar Patel becomes the team's main spin bowling all-rounder. In the T20 World Cup, Axar outclassed Jadeja with bat, ball and in the field to prove that he is now good enough to be an automatic starter in India's format after many years of being the veteran's backup.
“With the retirement of Jadeja, Axar will have a longer duration in the format. Some of the other left-hand spinners should feature as well. It's time. Those three have been there and done that. Let them enjoy playing the rest of the time cricket – IPL or other formats. I wish they would play a bit more domestic cricket,” concluded George, who is the fielding coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL and WPL.