Mumbai, November 14: Former India batter Mohammad Kaif feels that senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli must be happy after watching youngsters performing well in the T20Is following their retirements from the format. Rohit led India to the T20 World Cup title in June earlier this year and announced his retirement from the format along with Kohli, who played a knock of 76 runs in the final against South Africa in Bridgetown. Tilak Varma Expresses Gratitude to India T20I Captain Suryakumar Yadav After Match-Winning Century Against South Africa, Says ‘He Gave Me an Opportunity To Bat at No 3 So Wanted To Repay His Faith’.

On the other hand, Rohit was the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with a total of 257 including three half-centuries. After the duo's retirement, the likes of Abhishek Varma, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma stepped up to the occasion and made the transition look very smooth under the new captain Suryakumar Yadav.

Kaif's remark came after Tilak smashed his maiden T20I century in the third T20I against South Africa on Wednesday while Abhishek blasted a 25-ball half-century to guide India to 219/6 and went on to win the match by 11 runs in Centurion. Earlier in the series opener, Samson hammered his second consecutive T20I century to become the first Indian batter to do so.

Mohammad Kaif's Reaction after India's Win Against South Africa

India's T20I transition after Rohit and Kohli's retirement has been buttery smooth with no major obstacle hindering them from defending their title in 2026. After the T20 World Cup title, Shubman Gill-led India defeated Zimbabwe 4-1 in the five-match T20I series before Suryakumar was appointed as Men in Blue's shortest format captain. Varun Chakravarthy Takes Most Wickets for India in Bilateral T20I Series, Achieves Feat During IND vs SA 3rd T20I 2024.

Under his leadership, India decimated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by an identical margin of 3-0 before heading to the Rainbow Nation. In the ongoing series against South Africa, India head to Johannesburg with a 2-1 lead for the final T20I on Friday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2024 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).