After Rohit and Virat, What’s Next for India?

By Shah Fasial 

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have hung their boots in red-ball cricket. Surprisingly, both announced their retirement in the month of May, just before the start of the series against England. Their departure has opened a huge void in the Indian Test team. 

India will now be without their two most successful Test captains of all time in terms of records. Both Sharma and Kohli have won more than half of their Tests as captains and have transformed India into a global Test powerhouse. They have led India to both finals of the ICC World Test Championship and have lost only one home series in the last 11 years—since Kohli took over the leadership. 

Keeping the records aside, their absence won’t just mean the loss of record-holding individuals, but a treasure trove of experience in understanding and managing the nuances of a five-day Test match. They understood the intricate realities of Test cricket: how every session and every over builds toward the broader narrative of a match, and how each Test contributes to the long journey toward the ultimate goal—the World Test Championship Final. 

Missing them will mean missing a touch of quality in terms of handling pressure moments and in-game strategies. 

Captaincy Records 

Virat Kohli – Captaincy Record 

Matches Captained: 68 

Wins: 40 

Losses: 17 

Draws: 11 

Win Percentage: 58.82% 

Rohit Sharma – Captaincy Record 

Matches Captained: 24 

Wins: 12 

Losses: 9 

Draws: 3 

Win Percentage: 50.00% 

Beyond captaincy, the scope and stature of both players as batters and individuals will haunt India for a long time—both at home and abroad. With Kohli’s arrival, India became the best visiting side overseas. They played high-quality cricket, challenged every team, and regularly won Tests abroad. They won back-to-back Test series in Australia and nearly defeated England in 2021—had the final Test not been postponed. 

Kohli represented India around the world and remained the face of Indian cricket for over 13 years. In that period, he made Indian cricket act and behave as he did—confident, aggressive, head-on, and entertaining. He was not just a cricketer—he was cricket itself. His place will not be filled, no matter how good a player India produces. He was a one-of-a-kind, limited-edition leader. 

Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, gave India greater home dominance and played vital innings in England when India left mid-series with a 2-1 lead (later concluded as 2-2). He was the leading run-scorer for India with 368 runs and, along with Jasprit Bumrah, was the top performer. He also played what many regard as his greatest Test knock—161 runs against England in the second Test of the 2021 home series—to keep India alive. Had he not played that innings, India might have struggled to find a way back in the series. 

The void these two have left behind will be difficult to fill. But time, being the ultimate dictator, will have its way—and India will be obliged to obey it. The team must find a way to sustain its red-ball excellence, as it has ever since the days of Sourav Ganguly and, particularly, the captaincy of Virat Kohli. 

But who will fill this space? Who is going to be the captain? Who will take over the iconic No. 4 spot in India’s Test batting lineup? 

Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill are two leading candidates. Both are high-quality players with distinct character and charisma. They certainly have the potential—but will they carry the burden the way Kohli did? Can Bumrah be as confident, confrontational, and vocal as Kohli was? Is Gill going to be Mr. Dependable and Mr. Saviour? 

The answers to these questions will come with time. But one thing is certain: Indian cricket will need a transition period to adjust to life after Kohli and Sharma. There may be some crises, and a few odd results may go against them—but eventually, they must rise again, just as these two leaders taught them to. 

On the contrary, this also provides a great opportunity for players to rise and show their mettle when India needs it the most. Many Indian batters now have a chance to break into the jam-packed Indian lineup—but to do that, they will need to be the absolute best versions of themselves.