Have we seen last of Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli in T20I for India? Cricket legends answer

Team India suffered a heartbreak loss to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal in Adelaide. There were high hopes from India to win the coveted title after a gap of 15 years but it wasn't meant to be as England defeated the Men in Blue by 10 wickets. Several questions have been asked about Team India's timid approach in the semifinal while some wholesale changes are expected to be implemented by the BCCI in the T20I setup. 

However, with the next T20 World Cup in 2024, there are also some doubts regarding star players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's future in India's T20I side. Some have suggested that 35-year-old Rohit and 34-year-old Kohli might have played their last T20I match for India. 

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Will Virat and Rohit retire from T20Is?

Cricket legends like Tom Moody, Anil Kumble and Stephen Fleming opened up on the possibility of Virat or Rohit being phased out of the shortest format of the game. While Moody believes it is a real possibility, Kumble and Fleming threw caution to the wind. 

"With two years to play out, I'd be surprised if they play a lot of T20 cricket for India between now and that World Cup. And I think that decision will be something that they'll need to sit down with the cricket board and work out six months prior to that World Cup. Because I don't see any point in them playing any T20 cricket for India, apart from franchise cricket of course, to that point, because it's a great platform to look to develop the players that we've been talking about," Tom Moody told ESPNCricinfo.

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"I think you'll sort of not decide now, but it's the decision of the player. And it's about what brand of cricket you want to play and what is the buy-in of everyone else. I think that will determine who is a part of 2024 and who's not," Kumble commented. 

"I know there are big decisions made after big tournaments and some can be rash. I don't like discarding players after a big tournament. I think there's a process in which both the boys have identified there that you work through. You're looking at talent, you are looking at the tournaments coming up and you put a bit of a plan in place that is in conjunction with the player, and with selectors and the board. You by no means shut the door, you work towards that door and see what sort of time frame you're thinking and then come up with a plan," Fleming explained. 

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"I'm not trying to sit on the fence but I just think it's crude when you just put a line in the sand after a tough tournament when I think they have still something to give. Is there enough time for it? That's a question a couple of years on. What's the motivation level of the player? What's the energy level? Often the decision is made before the selectors have to intervene. So it will be an interesting watch not just for India but for a number of teams when you reshuffle the deck and you see who's still standing," Fleming continued to explain.