Moments after the T20 World Cup win last Saturday in Barbados, where India beat South Africa by seven runs to lift the coveted trophy for the second time in history, three members of the squad announced their retirement from T20I cricket within the next 24 hours. Virat Kohli was the first, announcing it right after he collected the Player of the Match award. India captain Rohit Sharma followed suit, making the announcement in the post-match press conference. And finally, a few hours later, Ravindra Jadeja joined the bandwagon. But is Jasprit Bumrah next on the list?
Bumrah played a pivotal role in India winning the T20 World Cup for the first time in 17 years. He took 15 wickets at an economy rate of just 8.26, the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. One of his best performances came in the final, where he bowled an economical spell in the death overs to deny South Africa a win.
While Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja announced their retirement from T20Is after the match, Bumrah confirmed that he is here to stay.
"It's is a long way away. I have just started. Hopefully, it is far away now," Bumrah said when unexpectedly asked about his retirement during the felicitation at Wankhede Stadium.
Earlier, during the event in Mumbai, Kohli was all praise for Bumrah on how he managed to help India bounce from a situation where Heinrich Klaasen had single-handedly reduced the chase down to 25 required off the final 25 balls. He gave away just six runs in two overs to leave South Africa in disarray, before they succumbed to a seven-run loss.
"Like everyone in the stadium here, we also felt at one point if it is going to slip away again, but what happened in those last five overs was truly, truly special. You know what I'd like everyone to do is applaud a guy who brought us back into games again and again and again in this tournament. What he did in those last five overs, bowling two out of the last five overs, it was phenomenal. A huge round of applause for Jasprit Bumrah, please. We are lucky that he plays for us,” the former India captain said.
{{/usCountry}}"Like everyone in the stadium here, we also felt at one point if it is going to slip away again, but what happened in those last five overs was truly, truly special. You know what I'd like everyone to do is applaud a guy who brought us back into games again and again and again in this tournament. What he did in those last five overs, bowling two out of the last five overs, it was phenomenal. A huge round of applause for Jasprit Bumrah, please. We are lucky that he plays for us,” the former India captain said.
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