Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring? Big change about to happen in Indian cricket

MUMBAI: Rohit Sharma was removed from the captaincy when the Indian cricket team for the Australian tour was announced, which came as a big shock to the fans. The fans are furious that the BCCI did not even give the Champions Trophy-winning captain a chance to lead India in another match. Rohit, who led India for four years, brought home two ICC titles in a span of eight months.

India has lost only one match in the three tournaments - the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. If it had not been for that defeat on November 19, 2023, Rohit would have been the only captain to have achieved the greatest feats in white-ball cricket. Although India lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, the Indian team led by the top-class batsman named Rohit Sharma played a pivotal role in leading India on a historic winning streak and transformed their approach to white-ball cricket. Rohit Sharma is also a captain who is considered to be as good as Dhoni or even better than him in the list of Indian cricket captains.

Another name that should be mentioned along with Rohit Sharma's is that of Virat Kohli. No script about Indian cricket would be complete without these two names in the achievements of the Indian team. It is not easy to write down the achievements of Kohli or Rohit and their contributions to Indian cricket. It was both of them who carried Indian cricket on their shoulders after the golden generation of Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman and Sehwag.

However, according to the latest reports, the Australian tour will be the last tour for both of them in the Indian jersey. National media reports quoting a BCCI official say that neither senior players are part of India's future plans. Although both of them want to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, it is likely that it will not happen.

Rohit will be 40 years old and Virat Kohli will be 38 in 2027. Coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar believe that allowing both of them to continue in the team until then will block the path of future players. Therefore, there are strong indications that both of them will bid farewell to Indian cricket forever with the Australian tour. There are reports that there will be an official confirmation in this regard in the coming days.