First time in 9 years! Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to feature as non-captains in ODI since MS Dhoni era
Both players retired from Test and T20I formats in early 2025 to focus solely on their ODI careers. Rohit Sharma also relinquished his ODI captaincy and handed over the baton to youngster Shubman Gill ahead of the ongoing India-Australia ODI series.
For the first time in nine years, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will take to the field solely as players. The last time these two cricket stars played under a different captain was in 2016. Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the team. Now, as they approach the twilight period of their careers, new leadership will guide them. Subman Gill. The last time Kohli and Rohit participated in an ODI under a new captain marked the beginning of a new era with Virat Kohli at the forefront. With Subman Gill currently leads India’s ODI squad, Ro-Ko may be nearing the end of his journey, but both remain hopeful for the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup.
As Rohit and Kohli prepare to return to international cricket after a seven-month break, it is worth reflecting on the last time they were rising stars under the management of one of India’s greatest captains, MS Dhoni.
Their last ODI together as players under a different captain was played on 29 October 2016. This match was the final match of the five-match home ODI series against New Zealand. In this match, Kohli scored 65 runs off 76 balls, achieving a strike rate of 85.52.
Rohit Sharma contributed with a strike rate of 107.69 by scoring 70 off 65 balls. The fifth ODI took place in Visakhapatnam, where India posted a total of 269 for 6 wickets in the first innings. New Zealand, in contrast, floundered in the face of Amit Mishra’s five-wicket haul and were bowled out for just 79 runs in 23.1 overs.
At that time, the legendary duo were at different points in their careers and were playing under the captaincy of MS Dhoni without any title.
The last ODI match involving Kohli and Rohit as players was part of the five-match series between India and New Zealand, which the home team won by a score of 3-2. An important takeaway from the series was that India emerged victorious when Kohli made at least a half-century or more than a hundred runs.
As a result, the two-day match, in which Kohli failed to cross the 50-run mark, ended in defeat for the Men in Blue. In the other three matches where Virat dominated, the home team emerged victorious.
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