India’s elimination from the T20 World Cup was confirmed back on Sunday when New Zealand defeated Afghanistan to book the second semi-final spot from Group 2. While India finished their campaign with a 9 wicket win over Namibia, it was still the team's first group stage exit from an ICC tournament since 2012.
Team India and their fans were all left heartbroken after the pre- tournament favourites failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Post their win against Namibia, the members of the Indian Cricket Team took to their social media and posted some heartfelt messages.
Virat Kohli, who played his last match as T20I captain tweeted,"Together as one we set out to achieve our goal. Unfortunately we fell short and no one is more disappointed than us as a side.The support from all of you has been fantastic and we are grateful for it all. We will aim to come back stronger and put our best foot forward. Jai Hind"
KL Rahul, who has performed exceptionally well in the series also tweeted, "Not the ideal World Cup for us, but we learn and grow. Grateful to all our fans for the love and support. Thank you to our coaches for helping us grow as cricketers. A big shout-out to @Vkohli for being a leader who led by example and for everything you have done for us."
Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya tweeted, "This wasn’t how we wanted our World Cup campaign to go. We fell short but we will work twice as hard to repay the faith and support shown to us by our fans. Thank you to everyone who cheered us on at the stadiums and everyone back home."
Wicket-keeper and batsman Rishabh Pant also tweeted,"Thank you for showing your love and support. We will come back stronger."
Monday's game also marked the end of Virat Kohli's T20I captaincy, Ravi Shastri's tenure as head coach and also the end of the stint of the other members of the support staff, including bowling coach Bharat Arun.
Kohli had announced his decision to give up T20 captaincy before the World Cup. He has also stepped down as captain of his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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