Rohit Sharma Opens Up On His Special Hug With Virat Kohli In Barbados

The former skipper reveals the T20 World Cup final hug was the culmination of years of shared pressure, knowing the tournament was their “last T20 World Cup” attempt together.

December 5, 2025: Former India skipper Rohit Sharma has opened up about the emotional bear-hug he shared with Virat Kohli moments after India clinched the 2024 T20 World Cup title in Barbados, describing the embrace as the culmination of their years of playing and striving for an ICC trophy together.

Both Rohit and Kohli retired from T20 Internationals on the night of the final^. The senior duo had also retired from Test cricket earlier in May 2024.

The Weight of Responsibility

Speaking about the powerful moment, Rohit emphasized the unique pressure and shared responsibility he and Kohli felt as the squad’s seniormost players.

“There was so much riding on us to take the team through,” Rohit explained. “It’s not that the other guys were not keen or hungry enough, but [we were]… I don’t like to say that word, but the seniormost in that squad. And we have played a lot of cricket together.”

He noted their shared journey, which began soon after Kohli joined the team, emphasizing that they had “literally… done everything together, played a lot of cricket together, except for the IPL.”

A Final, Special Attempt

The emotional charge of the hug stemmed from the knowledge that this was their last chance to win the T20 World Cup together after years of heartbreaking setbacks in other global tournaments.

“We have seen a lot of setbacks as well with the World Cups. So, for both of us, we knew it was our last T20 World Cup, so it made it even more special,” Rohit added, echoing Kohli’s earlier sentiments that he was moved to tears seeing his captain so emotional.

Final Heroics Defined the Farewell

The victory, a narrow seven-run win against South Africa, marked India’s first ICC title in 11 years.

• Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was widely lauded, and he was the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 257 runs at a phenomenal strike rate.
• Virat Kohli, despite a difficult tournament, played a heroic, match-defining innings in the final, anchoring the attack with 76 runs off 59 balls on a challenging pitch to help India post a competitive total.

The historic win provided the perfect curtain call for the two legends’ T20I careers. They are now focusing their efforts on retaining their places in India’s squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup.