In 2012, during one of India’s Asia Cup matches, Sunil Gavaskar had famously said on commentary, ‘I think we have glimpsed the future. The future of Indian batting. Rahul Dravid has just called it a day. We don’t know how long Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman are going to be around. But I think that is a glimpse of India’s batting future.’ He was referring to the sight of a young Virat Kohli and a 24-year-old Rohit Sharma. Kohli, by then, was closing in on completing four years in international cricket, while Rohit had a stop-start journey. They had promise but were far from coming anywhere near to filling Tendulkar or Dravid’s shoes. But like a prophet, Gavaskar, and his knack of spotting talent, was bang on.
Cut to 2024… and both have announced their retirement from T20 internationals as the two highest run-scorers for India in the format after winning the T20 World Cup. Under Rohit, India ended the drought, beating South Africa in the final by 7 runs and lifting the silverware in Barbados, but for the country’s most fabled batting duo of the current generation, this meant a lot more – 15 years of brotherhood culminating into a moment that they would cherish their entire lives.
As youngsters, Rohit won the 2007 World T20, and Kohli was part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning side. But despite playing together for a decade and a half, winning a World Cup together was the only checklist missing in their illustrious careers, a dream that was fulfilled last Saturday. They had won the 2013 Champions Trophy, but having endured the heartbreaks of 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2023, winning the 2023 World Cup was the perfect ending to their T20I careers. After the victory was achieved, Kohli and Rohit, 35 and 36 respectively, cried like babies. Remember, these are grown men, fathers to three lovely kids. To see them weep in joy is the stuff of legends that make sports beautiful.
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On Thursday, as the Indian team was felicitated at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Kohli aptly summed up what that moment meant to him and Rohit. On Saturday, both posed for photos with the national flag around them, then shared a special moment on the stairs, but hearing it from Kohli’s mouth simply solidified the Ro-Ko bond even further.
“I don’t know about breaking the internet but this is the first time in 15 years of playing together that I’ve seen Rohit show so much emotions on the field. When I was walking up the steps, I was crying, he was crying, and we hugged. For me, that’s going to be a very special memory from that day, because all said and done, after so many years, our only goal has been this. The only goal has been Indian cricket and the Indian flag. And that’s what we take pride in,” Kohli said.
Kohli was there 13 years ago at this very venue when India lifted the 2011 World Cup. As seniors Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and others couldn’t control their tears back then, Kohli, now found himself in the same boat. Kohli admitted that while he couldn’t connect with the outflow of his seniors’ emotions, he very well understands it now.
Kohli also said something about the great Tendulkar that has remained with fans ever since: ‘He has carried the burden of the nation for 25 years, it’s time we carried him on our shoulders’. Fast forward to now, and while Kohli and Rohit weren’t exactly carried on shoulders, Virat believes they have taken some of the ‘burden’ away with this World Cup win.
“When I won the World Cup [in 2011], honestly, I couldn’t connect with the emotions of the senior players at that point of time. I was like ‘I don’t understand why they are crying’. For me it felt like ‘Yeah, we won the World Cup. It’s as easy as that’. I was 22-23,” added Kohli.
But now, it is a different feeling. I said something about Sachin paaji and now to be in this position, not just me… Rohit has played for so long as well. We both have been trying this for so long. Trying our hardest when I was captain and he was a senior player in the team. And now when he is captain and I am a senior player of the team. The only aim was to win India a World Cup. So I hope that we have carried that burden to an extent and given the result the country wanted us to provide to them.”
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