The last time India played a T20 World Cup, they had won the whole thing under the stewardship of Rohit Sharma back in 2024. That win in the final against South Africa ended India’s long drought of ICC trophies as Rohit became the second captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni to win the T20 World Cup. Fast forward to 2026, Rohit, who had retired from T20Is after winning the trophy in 2024, will be watching the upcoming edition in February from the sidelines. “We were talking about this at home, that it will be strange watching it from home, especially the T20 World Cup. From the time it started until now, I have been part of every World Cup, so it will feel different. When I watch the team playing T20 games, the feeling of missing out isn’t as much. But when you miss a World Cup, the reality really sinks in. That’s when you realise you’re not going to be part of it. So it will be a little weird. However, I will be somewhere in the stadium. It won’t be the same and it will be a different experience, but I’m actually looking forward to it. It will be quite amazing,” Rohit said on JioHotstar’s ‘Captain Rohit Sharma’s Roadmap for T20 World Cup’ show. In this edition of the T20 World Cup, set to start from February, India will also be without Virat Kohli and Ravindra, both of whom retired from the shortest format on the same day Rohit did- after winning the trophy back in 2024. This time around, India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, under whom India have a win percentage of more than 72 percent in T20Is. Also Read | Rohit Sharma opens up about taking tough calls as skipper, cites example of how he and Rahul Dravid told Shreyas Iyer about exclusion from 2022 Asia Cup, T20 WC Rohit also talked about India’s T20 World Cup squad, saying that there’s a strong sense of understanding between the players which will be advantageous for them in the long run “I think togetherness and mutual trust are the most important things. If I’m not wrong, these players have been playing together for almost two years now. There have been a few who have missed out and some who have come in new, but apart from that, I think around 80 to 90 per cent of the squad has remained the same since the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” he said. “When I watch the matches, I feel there is a strong sense of understanding within the team, developed through playing together. One positive aspect is that almost all of them are of a similar age, apart from a few exceptions. Otherwise, I think the average age is probably close to 25, which is always good, because you have to have a lot of discussions, a lot of open conversations and also some hard conversations when you are heading into a World Cup, as the only aim is to win it. For that, if you have to take certain hard calls where someone you play with, even a close friend, might feel bad, it should be okay. So I think it is very important to create that kind of relationship among players,” Rohit added.
‘It will be strange watching it from home’: Rohit Sharma opens up on missing T20 World Cup for first time in his career
