Sourav Ganguly Discusses Challenges for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Post-Retirement

Sourav Ganguly's Insights on Rohit and Kohli's Future
Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian cricket captain, has recently made headlines with his comments regarding the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli following their retirements. He noted that maintaining fitness for One Day Internationals (ODIs) will pose a significant challenge for both players, especially since they had already stepped back from T20 cricket last year. Ganguly expressed that had Kohli continued his career, he might have excelled during the recent England tour.
In a recent interview, Ganguly remarked, “It’s certainly not going to be easy for either of them to play 15 matches a year. I think both of them understand the game as well as I do, and they’ll make their own decisions regarding this. But everyone should understand that, like everyone else, the game will eventually move on from them. These two will also move on from the game.”
He further elaborated on the importance of timing retirement, stating, “One should retire when people ask ‘why?’ — not when they start asking ‘why not?’ As a player, you always know your own place. Kohli knows that his last five years in Test cricket weren’t great, but a champion like him always finds a way to bounce back. Had Virat gone on the England tour, he would have scored heavily. But he felt it was the right time to step away.”
Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of Team India, recently echoed similar sentiments, suggesting that if both players continue to perform well, they could still be considered for the next World Cup.
In response, Ganguly stated, “The World Cup is still quite far away. Before that, we have to play the T20 World Cup, which is another major tournament scheduled to be held in India in February-March. So, after the England tour, the complete focus will shift to this T20 World Cup. There is still around two and a half years between now and November-December 2027. And as I’ve said before — if they keep performing, age is just a number.”