Kohli, Rohit And Jadeja: A Hat-Trick Of Retirements Stuns Cricket World

A hat-trick is to be celebrated in cricket, whether it’s a bowler claiming three wickets, a batter hammering three centuries, or a series of wins.

- S KANNAN

However, a hat-trick of retirements from T20 Internationals, announced by Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja in succession, has flummoxed Indian cricket fans.

The triumph against South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup in Barbados on Saturday night is being celebrated in India and abroad. Yet, what has come as a massive surprise is three superstars in their own right deciding to walk into the sunset from T20 Internationals, leaving everyone shell-shocked.

Timing in cricket is crucial, whether it's a batter scoring runs, a captain making the right calls, or a bowler claiming wickets. To say that these three retirements have come like a tsunami wave would be no exaggeration. Retirement in professional sports is a personal decision. There is an old adage: when an athlete retires, if the question asked is ‘why,’ it means they have left a mark and are still valued.

In the case of Kohli, Rohit, and Jadeja, their decision to quit is personal. Their farewell messages make it clear they are leaving on an incredible high. The news of Kohli's retirement was captured in the Sunday edition of this newspaper.