BCCI presents diamond-studded ‘champions rings’ to Rohit Sharma’s T20 World Cup-winning Indian team

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday unveiled the “Champions Ring” that was presented to the members of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team during its annual Naman Awards on February 1. The board tweeted a video showcasing the rings that had the name and numbers of each player and the Ashoka Chakra in the centre. Around the Chakra are the words: “India T20 World Champions 2024”.

“Presenting #TeamIndia with their CHAMPIONS RING to honour their flawless campaign in the #T20WorldCup Diamonds may be forever, but this win certainly is immortalised in a billion hearts. These memories will ‘Ring’ loud and live with us forever,” said the board in its tweet along with the video.

Nine players out of the 15-member squad who played the pulsating final against South Africa in Barbados last year was present at the ceremony. Among those who weren’t there was veteran Virat Kohli, who was player of the match for his 76 off 59 balls which pretty much set the game up for India. Kohli was absent due to his participation in a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi – the ceremony coincided with the last day of the game.

‘Took a while for me to realize we’ve won the World Cup’

Captain Rohit Sharma was asked about his feelings right after winning the title. “Honestly it took a while for me to realize we’ve won the World Cup, until we came to Mumbai, we realized what we actually did. Unfortunately for us, in Barbados, we were stuck there because of the hurricane, and we were not able to go out so three or four days we were there and you know when you win an ICC trophy, you want to go and celebrate, especially when you are not in the country and bring it back to the country and celebrate with the fans,” he had said.

India managed to win the final despite South Africa at one stage needing just 30 to win off the last five overs. The final ball was followed by emotionally charged scenes, with the bowler Hardik Pandya and senior players like Rohit, Kohli, and the usually reticent Jasprit Bumrah all in tears. Apart from the extraordinary nature of the final, it was also India’s first major trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy. Moreover, it was largely the same set of players who dominated the 2023 World Cup at home less than a year before that, only to lose in the final to Australia. Rohit, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20Is after the final.