Weeks have passed since Sharma captained India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and it still came as a jolt when skipper and opener Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the T20 internationals. For the first time since this decision, Sharma speaks out to explain the reasons behind this exit from the game's shortest format. He made his international debut in 2007, and coincidentally, he turns out to be the first Indian cricketer to play every T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, star batter Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements in his company . In a podcast, Sharma explained his thought process. Also Read | IPL 2025 Retention Shake-Up: Teams Can Keep Six Players, RTM Returns "The only reason I retired from T20Is is because I have had my time, I enjoyed playing the format, I played for 17 years, I did well and all of that. Then, you won the (2024) World Cup. This was the best time for me to decide that 'okay, this is now time for me to move on and look after the other things'. There are a lot of good players who can do well for India," he said. "I believe everything is in the mind. I am a person who has got a lot of self-belief because I know that I can control my mind when I have to. Sometimes it's not easy. I know most of the time I can do that. If you tell your body that you are young, you can do this, you can do that, (then) of course you can," the India skipper concluded. He has scored 4231 runs at an average of 32.05 with a strike rate of 140.89 in 159 matches. He has smacked five centuries and 32 half-centuries. Once Sharma quit, the board made Suryakumar Yadav the T20I captain, but Sharma will continue to lead in Tests and ODIs.