Air-borne Virat Kohli and a grounded Rohit Sharma celebrating India's victory against England in September 2021. Photo source: @ImRo45|X
Rohit, Kohli Sweep Out, Willow Winks at Glory
In the fevered twilight of May 2025, India’s cricket-crazed streets froze, hearts caught in a collective gasp. On May 7, Rohit Sharma, the Hitman whose bat spun dreams as soft as monsoon silk, slipped a quiet note onto Instagram Stories, his Test cap a gentle farewell to the whites, the canvas where his elegance bloomed. Five days later, on May 12, Virat Kohli, the King whose cover drives were war cries for a billion souls, followed with an Instagram post, his words a love song to 14 years in the baggy blue. These back-to-back retirements, twin bolts of lightning, set ablaze a nation where cricket is not sport but the very breath of life. With a five-Test series in England looming on June 20, Rohit and Kohli, India’s Test maestros, have passed the willow’s song, leaving a stage where their strokes wove epics, their spirits the pulse of a billion dreams.
They were India’s Test lodestars, their bats conjuring magic in cricket’s grandest cathedral. Rohit, 38, captain since 2022, led with a serenity that masked his audacity, guiding India to 12 wins in 24 Tests, a 50% win rate second only to Kohli among Indian skippers. His five IPL titles with Mumbai Indians sharpened a tactical mind that steadied India through stormy overs, his smile a beacon in dugouts from Chennai to Cape Town. Kohli, 36, captain from 2014 to 2022, was India’s fire, his 40 wins in 68 Tests crowning him the nation’s most successful leader, fourth globally behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh. His 2018–19 Australia triumph, India’s first Down Under, was a tectonic shift, his aggression forging a No. 1-ranked side that made Test cricket India’s pride amid T20’s dazzle. Together, they spun a golden era, their leadership a hymn to a format that tests the soul.
Their final seasons bore the weight of time, yet their struggles only deepened their legend. Rohit’s 2024–25 campaign was a heartbreak, his 10.93 average across eight Tests a flicker of his prime, his form unravelling in New Zealand’s 3-0 home sweep and Australia’s 3-1 Border-Gavaskar rout, where he skipped the Sydney Test, his eyes heavy with doubt. Kohli, too, dimmed, his 32.56 average over 24 months yielding a lone century in Perth, his fifth-stump dismissals a nagging ghost. But their peaks shine brighter: Kohli’s 9,230 runs in 123 Tests, with 30 centuries and seven double hundreds—the most by an Indian—place him fourth behind Tendulkar, Dravid, and Gavaskar. Rohit’s 4,301 runs in 67 Tests, with 12 centuries, include a debut 177 against West Indies and a 127 at The Oval in 2021, moments that turned pitches into poetry.
Their personas were a dance of contrasts, their bats singing distinct melodies. Rohit Sharma, Mumbai’s magician, batted with a languid grace that Sunil Gavaskar likened to Virender Sehwag and Viv Richards, his flowing style a spectacle. Rohit’s 51.73 home average as an opener since 2019 marked a reinvention for the ages, his lofted cover drives casting spells, the ball soaring as if charmed. In Chennai 2021, Rohit’s 161 on a devilish pitch was a masterclass, Mumbai’s gullies erupting as he tamed England’s spin.
Virat Kohli, Delhi’s warrior, embodied molten intensity, his cover drive a thunderclap, as seen in Adelaide’s viral 2018 nets. Kohli’s wristy flicks devoured short balls, though the fifth-stump line sometimes stung, his 55.58 home average and 15 away centuries—six in Australia—cementing him as a global colossus. In Edgbaston 2018, his 149, with India reeling at 100/5, was defiance itself, Kolkata’s Eden Gardens buzzing with pride. Rohit was moonlight; Kohli, wildfire. Their partnerships—400-plus stands in crises—were India’s heartbeat, a nation’s hopes riding every run. Their records are a tapestry of brilliance, each thread a story. Kohli’s seven double centuries, six in a blazing 18-month run from 2016 to 2017, crowned him the world’s best. His 692 runs in a single Australian series, with twin tons in 2014, remain an Indian pinnacle.
Rohit, with three ODI double centuries, infused Tests with fearlessness, his 264 against Sri Lanka a white-ball record that shaped his red-ball daring. Kohli’s 20 centuries as captain dwarf the great Gavaskar’s 11, while Rohit’s five IPL titles reflect a leadership that bonded teams. Their stats—Kohli’s 46.85 average, Rohit’s 40.57—fade beside the memories: a Kolkata vendor pausing his cart as Kohli’s ton flashed on a shop TV, a Mumbai gully erupting as Rohit’s 177 lit up 2013. Their runs were India’s pulse, the rhythm of chai stalls and schoolyards.
The void they leave is a chasm, both on the field and in the heart. India’s batting, once their fortress, faces England’s swinging Dukes with young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Sai Sudarshan, talented but untested in such cauldrons. The captaincy—likely Jasprit Bumrah or Gill—must fill the shoes that strode Lord’s and Perth with swagger. Across India, fans mourn, some calling Kohli “Test cricket’s soul,” others hailing Rohit’s “smile that won hearts,” their voices a chorus of love and loss. Sachin Tendulkar lauded Kohli’s “passion and legacy,” while Rahul Dravid said, “Rohit’s calm and Virat’s fire shaped an era.” The emotional gap looms large—kids in Delhi alleys mimicking Kohli’s stance, families in Chennai pausing dinners for Rohit’s shots, now dreaming of their heroes’ echoes.
Their journeys were forged in sweat and stardust. Rohit, born in Nagpur, was an off-spinner until a 2005 injury turned him to batting. From Mumbai’s Borivali gullies, swinging a taped ball, he rose, his 2013 Test debut 177 a spark in Tendulkar’s farewell shadow. His 2019 opener role, a gamble, paid off with a 212 against South Africa, Wankhede roaring like a monsoon. Kohli, Delhi’s brash prodigy, led the 2008 U-19 World Cup to glory, his 2011 Test debut 116 in Adelaide a promise kept. After losing his father at 18, he played a Ranji match hours later, his grit defining him. His fitness revolution—sprints, diets, intensity—dragged India’s Test side into a new age, his 2018 Edgbaston 149 a love letter to his father’s memory, Delhi’s streets alive with chants.
Fans lived their magic viscerally. In Kolkata’s Maidan, a girl of 10 swings a plastic bat, shouting “Kohli!” as her cover drive scatters pebbles, her eyes dreaming of the Lord’s. In Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, a retiree recalls 2013, his family glued to Rohit’s debut, cheering as if he were kin, their TV a shrine. In Jaipur, a teacher pauses class to replay Kohli’s 2018 Edgbaston 149, students gasping as he defied England, strangers in Connaught Place hugging in joy. In Chennai, when Rohit’s 2021 161 turned a Test, Marina Beach roared, kites soaring, a fisherman’s radio crackling with pride. These weren’t matches; they were India’s heartbeat, families bonding, and dreams born. From Pune’s elders praying for Kohli’s runs to Bangalore’s teens sketching Rohit’s 45, their retirements spark tears but swell pride.
Their mentorship shaped India’s future. Kohli, the elder brother, counselled Gill through slumps, his “keep grinding” mantra forging Gill’s 2024 tons in late-night chats. Rohit, the cool uncle, teased Jaiswal in nets, his strategic tips turning the youngster’s game, Jaiswal’s 2024 double ton a nod to his mentor. In 2024, Kohli’s Perth ton saw him embrace debutant Nitish Reddy, his whispered advice sparking a fifty, the crowd roaring. Rohit’s captaincy nurtured Bumrah’s leadership, his faith in the bowler now India’s hope, their 2023 World Test Championship talks a masterclass in trust. Their lessons—grit, belief, joy—live in India’s young guns, ready for England’s green pitches.
Off the field, their warmth was India’s treasure. In Ranchi 2022, Rohit signed autographs for hours, a child’s grin his reward, fans chanting “people’s captain.” In Mumbai 2023, Kohli danced with kids at a charity run, his laugh a melody, crowds calling him “the King who kneels for fans.” Rohit’s “Oh yaar” quips eased tense huddles, his 2024 Australia banter lifting spirits post-losses. Kohli’s post-match talks, eyes blazing, inspired rookies; his 2024 Perth speech to Reddy stirred hearts, teammates saying, “Virat’s words are fire.” Their retirements don’t dim their light—Rohit joking at a fan meet, Kohli hugging a groundsman, their humanity, India’s pride.
In India, cricket is more than sport—it’s the monsoon’s rhythm, the bazaar’s hum, the gully’s shout. Rohit and Kohli were its poets, their Test runs a saga of grit and grace. From Rohit’s Borivali tapes to Kohli’s Delhi streets, they scripted India’s Test dreams, their 2018 Australia win a flag on foreign soil. Test cricket, often eclipsed by T20’s flash, found champions in them—Kohli’s roar defending its sanctity, Rohit’s smile making it joyful. Their struggles—Kohli’s 2024 tears after Sydney, Rohit’s doubts post-New Zealand—humanised them, their fight, India’s own. Fans whisper, “They didn’t just play; they lived for us,” their bats singing a nation’s hopes.
Their cultural weight is India’s soul. In Varanasi’s ghats, a priest pauses prayers for Kohli’s ton, his radio crackling. In Ahmedabad’s markets, a tailor stitches as Rohit’s shots play on loop, his needle dancing. In Kochi’s backwaters, kids swing logs, yelling “Hitman!” their dreams born in Rohit’s drives. In Hyderabad, a student tapes Kohli’s poster above her desk, her study lamp glowing for his cover drives. Test cricket is India’s timekeeper—grandfathers narrating Gavaskar, fathers Tendulkar, now kids chanting Kohli and Sharma. Their retirements are a festival of memories, tears mingling with pride, their whites folded but their spirit eternal.
Their ODI futures burn bright, the 2027 World Cup a canvas for glory. Rohit, with his lazy elegance, will loft drives; Kohli, with his fire, will chase runs. But Test cricket, their truest love, feels their absence. England’s pitches—Lord’s, Headingley—will hum without their swagger, the Dukes ball unchallenged by their blades. Yet, their legacy lives in Yashaswi Jaiswal’s poise, Shubhman Gill’s grit, and Jaspreet Bumrah’s fire. Social media erupts, fans hailing their “eternal spark,” their lessons—belief, joy, fight—etched in India’s young guns, ready to conquer.
For India, Rohit and Kohli are the gully’s shout, the stadium’s roar, the heart’s beat. Their Test runs were stories—of a Mumbai boy defying odds, a Delhi lad conquering grief. Their retirements, though a jolt, are a celebration, their willow’s song echoing in every cover drive, every cheer. In Kolkata’s tea stalls, Mumbai’s trains, Delhi’s markets, their names spark smiles, their feats retold by fathers to sons, grandmothers to girls. They’ve given India not just runs but dreams, not just wins but hope. As the sun sets on their Test careers, India stands, clapping, hearts full, their song never fading.
– global bihari bureau
