Former India captain Kapil Dev called Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma “irreplaceable” saying that no one can take their place in the team in any format.
Kohli and Sharma have been playing for India for a long time and both players made unmatched history in the sport. Dev believes that they hold the same status as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni in Indian cricket.
"No one can take Virat and Rohit's place in the Indian team in any format. They have been a huge servant of Indian cricket and it was a happy farewell for them. The stature that Virat has made of himself in all formats, he will surely be missed in T20Is. Both are as same as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. They are irreplaceable," Dev told IANS.
After India’s T20 World Cup win, Kohli announced his retirement immediately during a post-match ceremony saying that it is time for the next generation to take over. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma confirmed during a post-match press conference that he, too, is quitting the shorter format.
Rohit and Kohli's retirement from the T20I format was not entirely unexpected. Neither player had featured in any T20Is following India's semi-final defeat in the 2022 T20 World Cup, and they only resumed playing T20Is in January this year, with their focus on the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Kohli ended his 125-match T20I career as India's second-highest run-scorer in the format — 4,188 at an average of 48.69 and strike rate of 137.04.
Meanwhile, Rohit departed from the format as its highest scorer — 4,231 runs in 159 matches — and also holds the record for the most centuries (five) in T20 internationals. He won two T20 World Cup titles: the inaugural one as a player in 2007 and now as captain in 2024.
- Virat Kohli
- Rohit Sharma
