Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can draw inspiration from Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to define their future in Indian cricket with absolute clarity.

Kohli and Rohit: The Fight Against a Forced Farewell

I have a request to make to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Irrespective of your greatness, irrespective of all that you have achieved, irrespective of whether this is the last legs of your careers, please… DO NOT GIVE UP. Do not let someone else dictate how the ending of your storied careers is going to be. You are bigger and deserve better than that.

Fine, you went out of T20Is, thinking it’s time. You left Test cricket even though the England series was right around the corner. But just six months after you helped India lift the Champions Trophy, there is no way the Australia series should be your swansong.

The last 28 days have been boring in Indian cricket. Memes of fans yawning and eagerly waiting for the cricket team to return to action are aplenty on social media. Hence, naturally, reporters are in full swing, and who better to write about than Kohli and Rohit, whose careers stand at a fascinating crossroads.

A report stating that the BCCI is planning to give a farewell to India cricket’s iconic batting duo in Australia sent shockwaves through the fraternity. Adding to the buzz, whispers that Shubman Gill could soon replace Rohit as India’s ODI captain have kept the 38-year-old in the headlines. Oddly enough, no such development emerged during the India vs England Test series. Which brings us to the question: Is it really true? Is Australia the place where Virat Kohli and Rohit will bow out of international cricket, similar to Tests?

A look at their numbers in recent ODIs proves the BCCI will only be shooting itself in the foot if the decision is made for them. Board officials, including acting president Rajeev Shukla, have repeatedly stated that the BCCI never tells a player when to retire. Yet, the chatter, particularly on social media, suggests a very different narrative.

Virat Kohli has been doing his thing inside the indoor net facility at Lord’s, while Rohit’s before and after pics, having undergone a remarkable transformation, and a stellar show in the Yo-Yo Test, are all that everyone needs to know about his ambitions. He is coming, fiercely determined for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, unless something goes terribly, horribly wrong.

Only Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma hold the power the change the narrative

Only Virat Kohli and Rohit can put these rumours to rest once and for all. And for that, they don’t even need to dig too deep into history. About two decades ago, Indian cricket’s greatest batting duo faced a remarkably similar test.

Hark your mind back to 2006–07, during the turbulent Greg Chappell era, when the team endured one of its most difficult phases. Sourav Ganguly had been unceremoniously shoved out, and there were whispers that Sachin Tendulkar might be next. Determined to dismantle the so-called “superstar culture,” Chappell went after the two biggest icons Indian cricket had ever produced — Ganguly and Tendulkar.

With Ganguly ousted, it seemed the door had closed on the Prince of Calcutta. But then came that iconic Pepsi commercial: “Hi! Mera naam Sourav Ganguly hai. Bhoole toh nahi?” A dejected-yet-defiant Ganguly struck a chord, one that spread like wildfire.