 "Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had starred in India's triumph in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year. Image: BCCI")
Indian cricket witnessed two of its biggest names in the modern era bring the curtains down on their Test careers in the span of a week. Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, with Virat Kohli following suit on Monday , both quitting the format a little over a month before the marquee five-Test series between India and England gets underway at Headingley.
Also Read | Virat Kohli Test retirement: An extraordinary batter, an even greater captain who elevated the format
Having also retired from the Twenty20 Internationals together after helping India win the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean last year, Rohit and Kohli will be focusing on One-Day Internationals as far as their international duty is concerned, presumably eyeing the 2027 ICC World Cup in South Africa.
After narrowly missing out on cricket’s biggest prize on home soil in 2023, helping India win the World Cup in the format that is most suited to their style of batting would be the perfect way for the two superstars to bring their careers to an end.
Gavaskar says Ro-Ko’s ODI future depends entirely on their form
Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, however, doesn’t see the Ro-Ko pair playing in the 2027 World Cup unless they’re able to produce extraordinary numbers with the bat that makes them undroppable.
“They have been massive performers in this format of the game. Again, the selection committee will probably be looking at the 2027 World Cup. They will be looking at whether they will be able to be in the team for the 2027 World Cup?’ Will they be able to make the kind of contributions they have been making?’ That will be the thought process of the selection committee. If the selection committee thinks ‘yes, they can’, then both of them will be there for that,” Gavaskar told Sports Today on Monday.
“No, I don’t think they will be playing. I am being very honest. But, who knows, in the next year or so, if they strike a rich vein of form, and if they keep scoring hundreds and hundreds, even God can’t drop them,” ‘Sunny G’ added when asked for his personal opinion on Kohli and Rohit’s chances of featuring in the World Cup.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndia has already moved on from the two greats in 20-over cricket with Suryakumar Yadav enjoying a red-hot run as captain after being named Rohit’s successor, and will be starting a new era in Test cricket by naming a new captain for the upcoming tour of England, for which top-order batter Shubman Gill appears a favourite.
Rohit, who helped India win the Champions Trophy earlier this year, will continue leading the side in the 50-over game and opening the batting with Kohli at one-down. Both seniors were in excellent form in the ‘Mini World Cup’ – Kohli scored an unbeaten 100 against Pakistan and a superb 84 in the semi-final against Australia while Rohit struck an 83-ball 76 in the final against New Zealand.
It’s also worth noting that both Rohit and Kohli were retained in the top category (Grade A+ with an annual salary of Rs 7 crore) in BCCI’s contracts list that was announced last month.