Legendary Sri Lankan spinners Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera have heaped praise on Indian greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their successful T20I careers. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from the T20I format after the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Both stalwarts were India’s openers throughout the tournament. Rohit, in particular, was more impressive throughout the tournament and finished as the second-highest run-scorer with 257 runs in eight matches at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.70.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli had a tournament to forget in terms of scoring. Kohli scored just 151 runs in 8 matches of the tournament at an average of 18.87.
However, Kohli’s brilliant 76 off 59 balls in the final against South Africa was crucial in India winning the title. Just when his team needed him the most, he delivered. He was adjudged Man of the Match for his performance in the final.
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Sri Lankan legends praise Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their illustrious T20I careers
In a video posted by Star Sports on X (formerly Twitter), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera praised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their brilliance over the years and wished them all the best for the future.
Modern day greats 👌🏻 Legends of the game 🙌🏻#AngeloMathews, #DineshChandimal and #ThisaraPerera reflect on the impact of #RohitSharma and #ViratKohli on Indian cricket and share their experiences both on and off the field. 💙#Cricket pic.twitter.com/h467D736XB
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 17, 2024
“At the Under-19 level, I played against Rohit (Sharma). I have seen what he is capable of. Obviously, Virat (Kohli) replaced Rohit at the Under-19 level. Virat has been amazing for India over the last decade and a half. Both are amazing players, great figures of today, legends of the game and I wish them all the best,” Mathews said.
“I think it was the right time for me to retire” – Dinesh Chandimal
Dinesh Chandimal felt that both players retired at the perfect time, when India won the title. He felt that it would take some time to replace them, but that India had enough talent to replace them.
“I think it was the right time to retire (from T20Is) after winning the World Cup. As a senior player, you want to have that. So I think they made the right decision. It will take some time for them to fill their shoes because they have a lot of experience playing T20 cricket, especially. India has a lot of young talent. So I am sure they will put their hands up and put in their performance,” Chandimal said.
Meanwhile, Thisara Perera recalled his experience of playing with Rohit Sharma in the Mumbai Indians camp.
“I played with Rohit (Sharma) when he was playing for MI (Mumbai Indians). He is a really nice guy. As a human being, he is very nice because he always shares his thoughts with the local players and even the foreign players,” Perera recalled.
While Thisara Perera has retired from international cricket, other veteran players such as Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are still playing. Mathews is playing across formats while Chandimal has been the favourite for Tests of late. All these Sri Lankan players are currently playing in the 2024 Lanka Premier League (LPL).