One of India’s sweetest moments in the history of the shortest format of cricket was the victory in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Sunday. But there was a tinge of sadness added to it as the news of the retirement of two stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from T20 broke.

But the news of Rohit, captain of the triumphant team in Barbados, and Virat were expected given their age of 37 and 35 respectively. It was time they made way for younger players in the national team.

Rohit leaves T20Is with 4231 runs from 159 matches, having made five hundreds and 32 fifties. In 125 T20I matches, Kohli scored 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 with 122 being his highest.

Virat’s batting in most parts of the T20 World Cup this year had come under criticism. But he redeemed himself considerably by playing an innings when it mattered the most in the final. It was the best decision Rohit and Virat could have taken given their advancing age. And both signed off in style. They could not have chosen a better occasion to call it quits from the T20. 

While there is no doubt their absence in the format will be felt some time to come. But that is how it has always been in Indian cricket which has seen the retirement of legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. The same is true of iconic cricketers of some other countries too.

India Indian Cricket Board President Roger Binny has said it will take another two-three years for the Indian T20 team to "come to terms with the void Virat and Rohit retirement from the format will create.

Rohit, 37, and Virat, 35, called it quits from T20Is after playing pivotal roles in India's second world triumph in the format in 17 years. The 2007 champions defeated South Africa by seven runs in the final to end their ICC trophy drought.

However, Binny is confident that given the talent pool in the IPL, “a  lot of cricketers are coming through. But all the same, it is going to take some time to bridge the gap (after the retirement of Rohit and Virat from T20Is)."

"They have contributed so much. It's going to take time. We will probably see in the next two-three years, the team coming back into its own without them," he told mediapersons after the final.

The T20 competition in Barbados also marks the end of Rahul dfravid’s tenure as the team’s head coach. Speculation is rife that former India opener Gautam Gambhir will succeed him.  But Binny declined to confirm. "Nothing concrete has come yet. Gautam Gambhir has a lot of experience. He has worked with teams. He played Test matches, ODIs, T20s. Let's see," he said.