India captain Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will no longer feature in T20Is. The trio who have been stalwarts for India in white-ball cricket for nearly a decade and a half, decided to retire from the shortest format after winning the T20 World Cup last month. But what about their future in Tests and ODIs? Former India batter and the current head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), VVS Laxman, was sure that Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja would play in the other formats for a long period.

All three players have in fact made it clear that they would be available for selections in Tests and ODIs. BCCI secretary Jay Shah also announced that Rohit will lead India in the Champions Trophy next year.

"My message to these stalwarts of the game, Virat, Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja, an extremely talented player who has contributed immensely to the progress of the Indian team. Congratulations for the contributions you have made to this great game and set an example to the youngsters to follow. The passion and the pride with which they had played this game is exemplary.

"While they have retired from this format, I am sure they will continue to prepare the way they did so far in their career and continue to bring laurels to the country."Big congratulations for an excellent T20 career and I am sure they will continue to contribute in the longer version of the game and in the 50-over format," he said in a video posted by BCCI on Friday.

Laxman, who has 8781 runs from 134 Tests at an average of 45.97, lauded the team's efforts for putting an end to India's 13-year-long wait for a World Cup title.

"The kind of finish we had after we were under pressure with South Africa batters needing 30 runs off 30 balls. And from there to show character, resilience and self-belief to pull off the match from the jaws of defeat, it shows the character of the entire team," Laxman said.

"The amount of hard work they put in, the celebrations (by the players and support staff) told the bigger story behind this victory."

The 49-year-old Laxman, who is currently heading the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, said the fervent celebrations by the team showed how much the victory meant to each of the players and the support staff.

"Obviously, it is a special feeling winning the World Cup. When you are playing against the best and win the trophy, it means a lot to all the players participating in the tournament.

"Everyone showed their emotions and it showed how much it meant to each and every player in the squad, as well as the support staff, the emotions were really high. You saw Hardik Pandya breaking down once he bowled the last delivery. You saw Rohit Sharma on the ground."The entire country is rejoicing this win. It was a special feeling keeping in mind we had come close (to winning the title) six months back (ODI World Cup). We should have won the 50-over World Cup, dominating the entire tournament but not being able to cross the final hurdle," he said.

Laxman made a special mention of the expressive celebration of Dravid, who generally abhors public show of emotions."

Someone like Rahul with whom I have played so much cricket, knew him for so many years, but for him to show that emotions, first when the last ball was bowled and then the various conversations he was having with the team members and when he lifted the trophy.

"I thought it was a great gesture by Rohit and Virat Kohli to hand over the trophy to him (Dravid) and the way he celebrated by lifting the trophy, it showed how much it meant to each one of them," said Laxman who paired with Dravid in a memorable Test win against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 when they stitched that famous 376-run partnership after following-on.

, lauded captain Rohit, star batter Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for their contributions in the T20 format. The trio announced retirement from the T20Is after the T20 World Cup win.