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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back together, united by a common threat that isn’t Gautam Gambhir or Ajit Agarkar
Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar aren't the biggest threats to Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma's 2027 World Cup ambitions. It is their race against time.
When Team India landed in Australia for its first ODI series in six months, Rohit Sharma looked into the team bus, spotted Virat Kohli, and broke into the kind of grin you’d expect from two friends reunited after a long, complicated chapter. Shubman Gill had hugged him just minutes earlier, but this was different. In Kohli, Rohit saw the one presence he’d probably missed the most, the familiar partner he’d grown alongside through the peaks, crises, and reinventions of Indian cricket. From wide-eyed prodigies to all-time greats, they’ve lived parallel careers. Perth was their first meeting since that night in Dubai, where they danced to dandiya after India won the Champions Trophy, Rohit’s final match as captain.
Rohit, since that night in Dubai, has made two public appearances – the CEAT Awards and T20 World Cup schedule reveal – and at both, he stayed silent on his sudden exit as captain and his Test retirement. Rohit’s Test retirement was impending after his rough tour of Australia, but the decision to hand the ODI captaincy to Gill could have been far smoother. His captaincy exit and his sudden quietness weren’t accidental. You don’t replace a captain who signed off with an ICC trophy and expect him to smile through it.
As Rohit took time to get things back on track – training like a freak – the one person who could identify Rohit’s emotions better than anyone else is Kohli. He was in the same place four years ago. He knows what it is like to have the captaincy taken away suddenly. In 2021, when Kohli was sacked as ODI captain and Rohit took over, a palpable tension filled the air. The parallels are striking, almost unsettlingly so. The one key difference, however, is that this time Kohli and Rohit are standing firmly by each other, even as their careers face an uncertain future. Suddenly, there’s been an outburst of Kohli-Rohit moments on the field; they’re seen together a lot more often. They are batting together in the nets. There’s a lot more of the bat taps, the shoulder pats, and the smiles. The back-to-back century partnerships certainly helped. But something deeper is binding them – a common adversary. And no, it isn’t Gautam Gambhir or Ajit Agarkar whom the social media has vilified, but their shared race against time for the 2027 World Cup.
Virat and Rohit’s biggest threat
While it’s evident that their relations with coach Gambhir and chairman of selectors Agarkar aren’t the same as earlier, Kohli and Rohit warming up to each other is a sight to behold. As the two alpha males of Indian cricket, the duo has been through more than a few ups and downs. Things weren’t always hunky-dory between the two. Not too long ago, rumours of a rift between Kohli and Rohit were rampant, and hurting Indian cricket, first during the 2019 World Cup, and then again when Rohit replaced Virat as captain. Social media chatter and exaggerated reports created a perception that all was not well between them. The situation nearly spiralled, but before it could reach a crescendo, Ravi Shastri stepped in. He called both Rohit and Kohli to his room and reminded them that for Indian cricket to remain healthy, they had to be on the same page. Once the reset button was hit, they didn’t look back.
Shastri isn’t in the system anymore, and Gambhir isn’t guaranteeing an end to the storm through his mercurial press conferences. This leaves Virat and Rohit to each other. They will need every bit of each other’s support if they are to lift the only ICC white-ball trophy they haven’t won together, the World Cup, especially now that they play just the one international format. Kohli, in his last four one-day internationals, has plundered 376 runs at an average of 188 and smoked 12 sixes, the most he’s ever hit in an ODI series. At 37, he’s unlocked a version of himself that’s even more dangerous than his peak years between 2014 and 2019. As for Rohit, the fact that he jokingly refused a slice of cake, worrying, "Mai mota ho jaunga wapis," only shows how fiercely committed he remains.
Both he and Kohli are hungrier than ever for that World Cup. The year 2026 will play a big role in determining how much form and match practice they can gather, but one thing seems certain: across the next 30-odd ODIs India have lined up, expect plenty more of Ro-Ko together.
A day after India wrapped up the three-ODI series 2-1 against South Africa, Rohit spent his downtime diving into Season 5 of Stranger Things. An intriguing sub-plot in Volume 1 revolves around the subtle cracks in Dustin and Steve’s relationship – a bond that began as an unlikely pairing but grew into one of the show’s most endearing bromances. In many ways, Rohit and Virat’s partnership mirrors the Henderson-Harrington dynamic. Much like Dustin and Steve, who stumbled into a partnership that evolved into unmatched loyalty, Rohit and Kohli – once viewed as contrasting personalities – have evolved into a duo defined by trust, strengths, and a common goal. Kohli brings the fire and relentlessness; Rohit offers calm and tactical clarity.
For both pairs, one final push remains.
