Virat Kohli shares anecdote behind iconic photo with Rohit Sharma after T20WC win: ‘Samaira was on his shoulders, but…'

The two giants of Indian cricket - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - bid adieu to T20Is, walking away from it in the best possible way by winning the T20 World Cup. The iconic duo waited for a very long time to lift their first World Cup trophy together as Kohli had not yet debuted when India lifted the T20 World Cup, and Rohit getting snubbed from the Indian squad when MS Dhoni's men clinched the 2011 ODI World Cup trophy. However, the wait ended on Saturday with India edging past South Africa by 7 runs in the title clash.

To celebrate the occasion, Kohli and Rohit shared a special moment after India's historic win, posing with the T20 World Cup trophy in their hands and the Indian flag on the back. Opening up on the iconic photo of the two Indian giants, batting maestro Kohli revealed that he had told skipper Rohit to hold the trophy for a while as the skipper remained behind and allowed the youngsters to bask in the moment.

"It was a very special thing for him [Rohit] as well. His family is here, Samaira [Rohit's daughter] was on his shoulder. But I just felt like in the victory lap he was behind the whole time. I told him, you also hold the trophy for a while, for two minutes. We should take a picture together because this journey has been very long," Kohli revealed in a video shared by Star Sports.

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Kohli, 35, further spoke about his and Rohit's journey together with the Indian team over the years. The roles of captaincy was reversed between the two, but their main focus always remained the same - taking Indian cricket forward in the right direction.

"Me and him playing together for so many years and just trying out level best to make sure that this happens for India. Captain leader, leader captain, we have just worked for only one thing - that's Indian cricket. That picture was a dedication to Indian cricket," the 35-year-old added.

Kohli announced his retirement from T20Is during his speech after winning the Player of the Match award in the final as he scored 76 runs off 59 balls. His gritty knock helped India post a challenging total - 176/7 on the scoreboard, which the Indian pacers defended amid a roller-coaster ride.

An hour or so later, Rohit revealed his decision in the post-match press conference to bid adieu to the T20Is. The duo finished their T20I careers as the two leading run-getters of the shortest format - Rohit at the top with 4231 runs and Kohli with 4188 runs.