Former India captain Rohit Sharma opened up on his viral hug with fellow veteran batter Virat Kohli after the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados. Having played majority of their cricket together, Rohit said that the win over South Africa in the final last year was a 'special' moment for him and Kohli. Reflecting on their heartwarming moment after the final, Rohit admitted that both he and Kohli knew that it was their last attempt at winning the coveted title.
"There was so much riding on us to take the team through," Rohit said about the hug.
"It's not that the other guys were not keen or hungry enough, but [we were] I don't like to say that word, but the senior most in that squad. And we have played a lot of cricket together. In fact, when he came into the team, I was only a year old in the team. So, literally, we did everything together, played a lot of cricket together, except for the IPL. And we have seen a lot of setbacks as well with the World Cups. So, for both of us, we knew it was our last T20 World Cup, so it made it even more special," he added.
Rohit captained India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title and immediately retired from the shortest format, with Kohli following suit.
The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is in Group A alongside Pakistan, the USA, the Netherlands, and Namibia. India's campaign opens against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7, before facing Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on February 12.
India will travel to Colombo to face off against Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium on February 15, before taking on the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 18. The title clash of the 20-team event will be held either in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on Pakistan's progress in the tournament.
(With IANS Inputs)