Is it high time for Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli duo (Ro-Ko) to bow out gracefully or should they also venture on a MS Dhoni-style gamble?

[The Bald Eagle]

The old guards of the Indian team have rendered some great services to the Indian fans. Although, they became a source of agony for them in the decade of humiliation but made a brilliant comeback to end their side's trophy drought with two major trophies. But given their aging and reclining smooth reflexes, is it high time for them to bow out gracefully with emphatic performances in the 3rd ODI against Australia in Sydney today.

Or would it be wise on their part to keep dreaming of a World Cup glory in 2027 in South Africa, emulating the footsteps of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who came close but no cigar in pulling over an empathic World Cup triumph in 2019. Given the underlying hostility between Gautam Gambhir (GG) and Ro-Ko camp, should the Ro-Ko duo take the first step towards hanging their boot or wait for another sudden shut call from GG on patterns of their abrupt exile from the domain of Test formats?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Asking two of the biggest protagonists from opposite school of thoughts to kick open the debate. So please proceed guys @Devadwal and @harshjoshi87

 

[NishanKonar]

Hope Rohit & Kohli retires gracefully over the next few months.

But I doubt they can prolong their career like Dhoni. Thats bcoz Dhoni weilded more influence in BCCI & also had a big fanboy Kohli as captain who was happy to let him continue

I foubt Agarkar & Gambhir will be so accomodating with Rohit & Kohli

 

[Devadwal]

Asking two of the biggest protagonists from opposite school of thoughts to kick open the debate. So please proceed guys @Devadwal and @harshjoshi87

I already said both of them need to retire with Grace instead dropped by gauti.

But knowing Indian oldies culture they Will not retire untill forced by team management .

 

[Devadwal]

I'm biggest supporter of King but team is more important than any individual player .

It's time to build the 2027 world Cup team with gill , Jaiswal Abhishek, Tilak,sai etc

Btw @harshjoshi87 tuktukraj won't represent indian team again so no point of crying in this thread.

 

[Hitman]

Good series for Rohit, below average one for Kohli. Time for both of them to gracefully bow out.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Both of them still belong in our ODI batting line up as has been evident in ICC Champions Trophy and this series.

ODI cricket is one format where youngsters haven’t been able to replace both of them.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Tbh they had the best opportunity after CT 2025, but the greed for some records and longevity ruined them

 

[jnaveen1980]

Both of them still belong in our ODI batting line up as has been evident in ICC Champions Trophy and this series.

ODI cricket is one format where youngsters haven’t been able to replace both of them.

India beat South Africa in South Africa with Sai Sudarshan and Sanju samson. It is the easiest format where you can replace people. Tests are the hardest where we already look better without these two. Rohit is playing for 18 years. We know how m uch he sucked for 7 years.

 

[Robbie]

Tbh they had the best opportunity after CT 2025, but the greed for some records and longevity ruined them

They know better about their cricket than others. They bid farewell to the two formats they didn't have hunger for..and still believe they have much to contribute in the 50 over format.

 

[jnaveen1980]

They know better about their cricket than others. They bid farewell to the two formats they didn't have hunger for..and still believe they have much to contribute in the 50 over format.

Nobody cares what they believe. They played 2015/2019/2023 world cup. Couldn't do anything. Suddenly they are going to win at the age of 40

 

[Robbie]

Nobody cares what they believe. They played 2015/2019/2023 world cup. Couldn't do anything. Suddenly they are going to win at the age of 40

Still they were the best batters in all those world cups..
All the youngsters like Gill, Pandya, kl Rahul, pant couldn't even make half of their runs
In 50 over format show me one youngster having better avg, strike rate or match winning innings.. any single statistic better than them

 

[The Bald Eagle]

They know better about their cricket than others. They bid farewell to the two formats they didn't have hunger for..and still believe they have much to contribute in the 50 over format.

They bid farewell to Tests? Or were forced? If they had no intention of continuing then why they went to domestic after ages

 

[jnaveen1980]

Still they were the best batters in all those world cups..
All the youngsters like Gill, Pandya, kl Rahul, pant couldn't even make half of their runs
In 50 over format show me one youngster having better avg, strike rate or match winning innings.. any single statistic better than them

Yea.. 97 balls no boundary best batters. Hardik Pandya is the most important componentn. India has started doing much better after they were kicked out. This statpadding culture will be gone once they leave.

 

[Robbie]

They bid farewell to Tests? Or were forced? If they had no intention of continuing then why they went to domestic after ages

Nobody in the bcci or bjp or the central cabinet had the power to drop kohli in test, T20 or 50 over format. Nobody can force kohli to do anything. He has retired because he wanted to retire after rohit was dropped

Rohit got dropped from test because he was not that special in tests for India which has a legacy in batting. He was average in test.

But in T20 and 50 over format he is a legend nobody could have dropped him

 

[Robbie]

Yea.. 97 balls no boundary best batters. Hardik Pandya is the most important componentn. India has started doing much better after they were kicked out. This statpadding culture will be gone once they leave.

Both the champions trophy 2025 and T20 world was won because of them. Are u out of your mind?

We Indians really have short memory..

Champions trophy final MOM- Rohit sharma
World Cup T20 final MOM- - Virat Kohli..

What trophy have we won after they retired .. don't tell me the asia cup.. our U19 could have won against these school level asian teams

 

[The Bald Eagle]

You can believe whatever you like, like you may believe Rohit voluntary pass the baton to Shubman

Nobody in the bcci or bjp or the central cabinet had the power to drop kohli in test, T20 or 50 over format. Nobody can force kohli to do anything. He has retired because he wanted to retire after rohit was dropped

Rohit got dropped from test because he was not that special in tests for India which has a legacy in batting. He was average in test.

But in T20 and 50 over format he is a legend nobody could have dropped him

 

[jnaveen1980]

Both the champions trophy 2025 and T20 world was won because of them. Are u out of your mind?

We Indians really have short memory..

Champions trophy final MOM- Rohit sharma
World Cup T20 final MOM- - Virat Kohli..

What trophy have we won after they retired .. don't tell me the asia cup.. our U19 could have won against these school level asian teams

SHreyas Iyer, KL Rahul , Varun C, Kuldeep were doing what? Shaving?

 

[Robbie]

SHreyas Iyer, KL Rahul , Varun C, Kuldeep were doing what? Shaving?

What are varun and kuldeep doing here?

Are we still talking about batting?

Dont let me start on shreyas and Rahul.. because of these idiots we lost the world cup final 2023. Real match ka mujrims of the world cup final 2023

 

[jnaveen1980]

What are varun and kuldeep doing here?

Are we still talking about batting?

Dont let me start on shreyas and Rahul.. because of these idiots we lost the world cup final 2023. Real match ka mujrims of the world cup final 2023

Shreyas Iyer was the highest run getter for India lol Second highest run getter of the tournament.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

if they are wanting to play next world cup then they have a good case.

 

[jnaveen1980]

What are varun and kuldeep doing here?

Are we still talking about batting?

Dont let me start on shreyas and Rahul.. because of these idiots we lost the world cup final 2023. Real match ka mujrims of the world cup final 2023

Without Shreyas Iyer we would not have even reached 2023 final. Tuk tuk Kohli aram se scored a 100. Blitz by Shreyas iyer in the end helped us score above par

 

[Robbie]

Shreyas Iyer was the highest run getter for India lol Second highest run getter of the tournament.

Nobody cares how many soft runs Iyer made.. the real impact was Rohit in that world cup.
He made sure India was never behind the run rate in all those games.

In the finals too.. Rohit and Virat were the only real batters who fought for the title..
Shreyas Iyer and KL rahul were nervous like deer in headlights

 

[Savak]

The only explanation why the BCCI is carrying them is for broadcasting and commercial reasons. The ICC wanted to change the format of the Champions Trophy from ODI to T-20 but because Rohit, Kohli had retired from the T-20 format, the broadcasters refused and wanted the Champions Trophy to be played in the ODI Format so that these two cricketers could play in the Champions Trophy.

 

[Robbie]

Without Shreyas Iyer we would not have even reached 2023 final. Tuk tuk Kohli aram se scored a 100. Blitz by Shreyas iyer in the end helped us score above par

Still I rate him much below kohli as I know kohli raises his game come the crucial games.. Taange nhi kaampti uski ..
Go and watch the finals of world cup 2023.. see rahul and iyer's faces.. nervous as hell
Come crucial games kohli becomes a champion whether it was T20 world cup 2022 against Pakistan, 2024 against SA in finals.. 2023 world cup finals.. 2019 world cup 2015 world cup any crucial game ... He has the confidence.. he may get out cheap but he won't succumb to pressure . Both of them RO-Ko has that quality..
That's why I won't rate Iyer or Rahul.. scared little cats against Pakistan or Australia

 

[jnaveen1980]

Still I rate him much below kohli as I know kohli raises his game come the crucial games.. Taange nhi kaampti uski ..
Go and watch the finals of world cup 2023.. see rahul and iyer's faces.. nervous as hell
Come crucial games kohli becomes a champion whether it was T20 world cup 2022 against Pakistan, 2024 against SA in finals.. 2023 world cup finals.. 2019 world cup 2015 world cup any crucial game ... He has the confidence.. he may get out cheap but he won't succumb to pressure . Both of them RO-Ko has that quality..
That's why I won't rate Iyer or Rahul.. scared little cats against Pakistan or Australia

Who cares what you rate him. It is the impact that matters. WHy did he block for 97 balls alongwith KL Rahul final. He just needed a 50 in final. Same way in World T20 he was tuk tuking while lesser batsmen Axar, Dube were smashing the SA bowling.

 

[Robbie]

The only explanation why the BCCI is carrying them is for broadcasting and commercial reasons. The ICC wanted to change the format of the Champions Trophy from ODI to T-20 but because Rohit, Kohli had retired from the T-20 format, the broadcasters refused and wanted the Champions Trophy to be played in the ODI Format so that these two cricketers could play in the Champions Trophy.

Icc could never make that blunder to reduce the champions trophy to T20 now

How will they have multiple icc tournaments every year. If it were upto ICC they would invent another format so they can squeeze another iCC tourney for that

 

[Robbie]

Who cares what you rate him. It is the impact that matters. WHy did he block for 97 balls alongwith KL Rahul final. He just needed a 50 in final. Same way in World T20 he was tuk tuking while lesser batsmen Axar, Dube were smashing the SA bowling.

His tuk tuk impact is the reason India is world T20 champ.
Axar, dube cud do what they did because at the other end it was kohli holding that end up after Gill pant and Rohit got out cheaply..
I shouldn't have to explain that but I guess scorecard reading and actually watching the match are two different things

What are your views about asia cup final.. do you think tilak had less impact than dube or Rinku Singh as his strike rate was lower than them

Please use some logic

 

[jnaveen1980]

His tuk tuk impact is the reason India is world T20 champ.
Axar, dube cud do what they did because at the other end it was kohli holding that end up after Gill pant and Rohit got out cheaply..
I shouldn't have to explain that but I guess scorecard reading and actually watching the match are two different things

What are your views about asia cup final.. do you think tilak had less impact than dube or Rinku Singh as his strike rate was lower than them

Please use some logic

No lol Inidia defended 30 in 30 balls. That is why they won. Inspite of his innings India won thanks to Axar and DUbe acceleration. Axar scored freaking 47 runs before Kohli ran him out lol Great player had to do the tough job of "holding one end up" in T20 while Axar had to do the easy job hitting boundaries.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Would be hard to do a MSD-level meltdown

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

 

[Vikram1989]

I had waited for 15 or 20 mnts after the presentation hoping for their retirement. They really spoiled my hopes .next 3 series are in india , iyer injury, gill rest will gives lots of chances to jaiswal and tilak i guess.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I had waited for 15 or 20 mnts after the presentation hoping for their retirement. They really spoiled my hopes .next 3 series are in india , iyer injury, gill rest will gives lots of chances to jaiswal and tilak i guess.

It is sad they want to aimlessly play till 40 with so much talent around

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Sorry mate @jnaveen1980 your thank you reverse jinxed

I had waited for 15 or 20 mnts after the presentation hoping for their retirement. They really spoiled my hopes .next 3 series are in india , iyer injury, gill rest will gives lots of chances to jaiswal and tilak i guess.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I had waited for 15 or 20 mnts after the presentation hoping for their retirement. They really spoiled my hopes .next 3 series are in india , iyer injury, gill rest will gives lots of chances to jaiswal and tilak i guess.

Whos the vice-captain? Pandya?

 

[Vikram1989]

It is sad they want to aimlessly play till 40 with so much talent around

Any player at the cost of team is never good.we should go for the best squad than setting team around few retired players. I think jaiswal will definitely gets his place as rohit cant be an enforcer and get 150s. Jaiswal can get it , if he gets 10 chances.Tilak may struggle with kohli as both are consolidators. We need only one consolidators out of 2 oldies , even in worst case. I prefer kohli as jaiswal potential is much higher than tilak .

 

[Vikram1989]

Whos the vice-captain? Pandya?

Iyer. He has injured his rib cage and am not sure how long he will be out of action.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Any player at the cost of team is never good.we should go for the best squad than setting team around few retired players. I think jaiswal will definitely gets his place as rohit cant be an enforcer and get 150s. Jaiswal can get it , if he gets 10 chances.Tilak may struggle with kohli as both are consolidators. We need only one consolidators out of 2 oldies , even in worst case. I prefer kohli as jaiswal potential is much higher than tilak .

Tilak is a slow starter but very difficult to get out because of his solid technique and great eye on the ball. He only struggles on rank turners and balls being bowled at wide outside of off stump

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Iyer. He has injured his rib cage and am not sure how long he will be out of action.

So who will captain in the next series?

 

[Vikram1989]

So who will captain in the next series?

Not sure if gill is not there .may be pandya or kl.

 

[Vikram1989]

Tilak is a slow starter but very difficult to get out because of his solid technique and great eye on the ball. He only struggles on rank turners and balls being bowled at wide outside of off stump

As of now same as kohlis struggles. Both struggles on spicy pitches. Tilak performed awful with almost shameful strike rotation in last odi series in sa.so its interesting to see how he performs there again.

 

[Katwalindian]

Who cares what you rate him. It is the impact that matters. WHy did he block for 97 balls alongwith KL Rahul final. He just needed a 50 in final. Same way in World T20 he was tuk tuking while lesser batsmen Axar, Dube were smashing the SA bowling.

overrated odi batsman...in t20s he had some great innings....

 

[tiger_khan]

TBH Indians have no mind of their own

If tomorrow the BJP politician Gautam Gambhir says that he wants Rohit And Kohli on his team, the other Andh-Bhakts will blindly follow him

This is a recurring pattern

Remember the anti-DRS stance of India? Kohli is an aggressive cricketer. He wanted to help his bowlers so went for the DRS.


But before that every Indian fan (almost) followed the BCCI line. They used to came up with ridiculous justifications like Umpires' errors are a part of the game and add color to it. Once the BCCI gave it an OK after the retirements of Sachin and Dhoni, everyone got on the Bandwagon of the DRS.

We regular Pakistanis are self-critical and have no problem with dissent. Not the Indians.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Yes they should bow out with all the respect now... No point waiting for 2027 WC.. Long long time in that still

 

[jnaveen1980]

TBH Indians have no mind of their own

If tomorrow the BJP politician Gautam Gambhir says that he wants Rohit And Kohli on his team, the other Andh-Bhakts will blindly follow him

This is a recurring pattern

Remember the anti-DRS stance of India? Kohli is an aggressive cricketer. He wanted to help his bowlers so went for the DRS.


But before that every Indian fan (almost) followed the BCCI line. They used to came up with ridiculous justifications like Umpires' errors are a part of the game and add color to it. Once the BCCI gave it an OK after the retirements of Sachin and Dhoni, everyone got on the Bandwagon of the DRS.

We regular Pakistanis are self-critical and have no problem with dissent. Not the Indians.

You just made up a theory out of thin air lol Nobody gives a flying walenda about what Gambhir thinks.

 

[Ab Fan]

ODI cricket is one format where youngsters haven’t been able to replace both of them.

That’s incorrect. Tests are usually tougher for youngsters, not ODIs.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Sorry mate @jnaveen1980 your thank you reverse jinxed

We have one whole year to go besides this year. Things will fall in place

 

[jamie smith fan]

.

 

[Devadwal]

TBH Indians have no mind of their own

If tomorrow the BJP politician Gautam Gambhir says that he wants Rohit And Kohli on his team, the other Andh-Bhakts will blindly follow him

This is a recurring pattern

Remember the anti-DRS stance of India? Kohli is an aggressive cricketer. He wanted to help his bowlers so went for the DRS.


But before that every Indian fan (almost) followed the BCCI line. They used to came up with ridiculous justifications like Umpires' errors are a part of the game and add color to it. Once the BCCI gave it an OK after the retirements of Sachin and Dhoni, everyone got on the Bandwagon of the DRS.

We regular Pakistanis are self-critical and have no problem with dissent. Not the Indians.

Ye Bhai delusional World m hi rehta hai. We are talking about Indian team not Pakistan where army chief parchi players selected in the team .

 

[Hitman]

You just made up a theory out of thin air lol Nobody gives a flying walenda about what Gambhir thinks.

True! In fact Gambhir is currently the most disliked personality related to Indian cricket.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Nobody cares what they believe. They played 2015/2019/2023 world cup. Couldn't do anything. Suddenly they are going to win at the age of 40

Sachin played in 92,96,99,03,07 world cup, couldn’t do anything. Why did he play in 2011 wc?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Both of them still belong in our ODI batting line up as has been evident in ICC Champions Trophy and this series.

ODI cricket is one format where youngsters haven’t been able to replace both of them.

Youngsters havent got enough chances. It took 86 ODIs for Rohit to stop being a mediocre ODI batsman.

India persisted with him for 5 and a half years, lol

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Neither will have the reflexes to play in 2027 September . Rohit will be in his 41st year and Kohli will be 39.

Good chance they'll be batting like Abdullah Shafique by then

 

[globetrotter]

Majority of Pakistani pps don't want RO-KO to play in WC27 as duo is nightmare to Pakistan team esp. Virat. Pakistan knows if RO-KO retired now then only they have chance of winning WC27 or beating India in WC

 

[globetrotter]

If RO-KO were born in Pakistan, they would have played till their 50s

 

[BouncerGuy]

If RO-KO were born in Pakistan, they would have played till their 50s

They would have been director internationl cricket and head of national high performance centre also apart from being captains.

 

[saimayubera]

For India - "decade of humiliation"

For Pakistan that won nothing for 17 years between 92 and 09 with many first round exits - Mighty 90s team lol

India in that decade between 2013 and 2024 had a really strong test team, greater than any Pakistani test team ever.

 

[prisha]

They would have been director internationl cricket and head of national high performance centre also apart from being captains.

Jokes aside what would have happened to them if they were in Pakistani team. I really want to hear the speculation

 

[saimayubera]

Jokes aside what would have happened to them if they were in Pakistani team. I really want to hear the speculation

Players like Kohli and Rohit cannot even come out of the Pak system.

Their greatest ODI batsmen are Anwar and Inzy, who are on par with Ganguly and Dravid (Anwar actually inferior to Ganguly) as ODI batsmen. No one in India even mentions them as ODI batsmen.

 

[Devadwal]

RoKo's PR team is trying very hard on social media to convince them to play in the World Cup in 2027. Pathetic!

Izzat se retired ho jao nahi to zaleel karke bahar karna padega

Gambhir will not allow him to play in the 2027 World Cup, that is certain.