Rohit Sharma Discusses The Emotional Challenge Of Viewing T20 World Cup From Home: 'It Will Feel Different'

India vs New Zealand: India's 2024 T20 World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma admitted that it will be a strange feeling for him to miss the ICC Men's T20 World Cup for the first time in his career.

The Men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place from February 7 to March 8 across venues in India and Sri Lanka. Hitman has played in all editions of the T20 World Cup since the ICC tournament's inception in 2007.

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India's victory in the 2007 World Cup marked the beginning of Rohit's remarkable T20I career.

"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 Sharma said on JioHotstar.

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The Hitman has won two T20 World Cup trophies: first as a player in 2007 and as captain in 2024. Rohit retired from the shortest format of the game after India's triumph over South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final.

He is the second-highest run scorer in the T20 World Cup behind India's star batter Virat Kohli. Sharma has slammed 1,220 runs in 44 innings at an average of 34.85 and a strike rate of 133.04, including 12 half-centuries.

With 4,231 runs in 159 games, Rohit was the format's highest scorer until Pakistan's Babar Azam surpassed him last year. He also holds the record for the joint-most hundreds (5) in T20 internationals.