Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir must negotiate with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma with care and sensitivity

This was Sourav Ganguly on 7 October 2008, two days before the start of the first of four Tests against Australia at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. A routine press conference ended with this dramatic announcement, after which the former skipper flashed a charming smile and walked away without taking questions. Ganguly always had a feel for drama, right? Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar are expected to have a word with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma(PTI)

“One more thing. I'm not going to retire from this format, just to make sure that no rumours are spread moving forward.”

So said Rohit Sharma on 9 March 2025, an hour or so after piloting India to their record third Champions Trophy title on Sunday. The rumour mills had been working overtime in the days leading up to the final against New Zealand. Some termed it the last dance, others insisted that the captain had been pushed into a corner, that he had no choice but to walk away.

How wrong we all were to be proved.

Rohit, who ended India’s 11-year wait for an ICC trophy in the Caribbean last June (at the T20 World Cup) and added a second eight and a half months later, has revealed his cards. ‘This format’ has left the door open for speculation, but let’s hold our horses on that front for now. By his own admission, he isn’t done with 50-over internationals. And India have quite a few of them lined up this year, but none until August when they travel to Bangladesh.

That three-match series will be followed by two subsequent such showdowns – in Australia in October and at home against South Africa in the month after that. For now, Rohit is available for those nine games.

His partner-in-crime – mostly on and sometimes off -- for a decade and a half hasn’t made any public pronouncements regarding his ODI future, which potentially means his last dance is still ahead of him. Virat Kohli was the first of three, ahead of Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja, to quit T20Is after the World Cup triumph. It must be assumed that like his successor, he isn’t done with the longer white-ball version yet, though he did say that he felt the team was in ‘good hands’.

What next for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma?

So, what now? What next? The Champions Trophy triumph has added a new layer to the ODI dynamics. Rohit has been, well, the Rohit of the last two and a half years, Kohli has been the Kohli of the last 15. They haven’t lost their mojo. Despite going against his natural grain and sacrificing quantity for impact, Rohit hasn’t lost his match-winning edge. Kohli continues to be the master of the chase, his cheap dismissal in the final notwithstanding. Kohli is as fit as anyone in the Indian team and despite what Shama Mohamed might have said, Rohit is supremely cricket fit.

How can one resist the temptation to look beyond them when they are available? But how can one also resist the temptation to rebuild and transition, given that the next World Cup is two and a half years away? By which time Rohit will be 40 and Kohli just shy of his 39th birthday?

It might seem odd, disrespectful even, to raise this topic at this time, when the focus ought to be on celebrating a roaring campaign, on savouring a second ICC title so quickly after the first, on discussing Rohit’s place in the captaincy pantheon. But competitive sport has little place for sentiment. Emotion and passion need to be balanced by prudence and cold logic. In the same breath, everything need not always be about the longer term only. The here-and-now can’t be entirely overlooked. The trick is in making the process of transition smoother and bump-free because grand servants of Indian cricket deserve that, they deserve a farewell of their choice, to go out on their own terms.

Rohit and Kohli aren’t just among the greatest white-ball batters of their generation or of their country, but the greatest of all time. The former has 32 hundreds, the latter a record 51, sandwiching the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (49). Impressive as those numbers are, their impact is a lot more than 83 centuries collectively. They are leaders and inspirations, trend-setters and exemplars when it comes to commitment, excellence and selflessness. They haven’t run out of steam yet, not by a long way, in 50-over internationals. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar must negotiate a potentially tricky next few months with care and sensitivity because that’s the least these two giants deserve. The very least.

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