Former India captain Sourav Ganguly admitted that cricket will continue to move on even after legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retire, whenever the time comes. They have already retired from T20I and Test cricket, and are reportedly eyeing the 2027 ODI World Cup as a potential grand swansong as well. Notably, they both have retired from the other two formats as well.
However, Team India last played in the 50-over format in the 2025 Champions Trophy in February and March, and their next ODI match will be against Bangladesh in August. According to the Future Tours Programme (FTP), India will play 27 ODI matches until the 2027 ODI World Cup. He also feels that maintaining fitness while playing only 15 matches a year might prove to be difficult for them as well.
“It won’t be easy, fifteen games a year. I’ve got no advice. I think they know the game as much as I do, and they (Rohit & Virat) will make their own decisions. But all of us must understand that, like everyone else, the game will eventually move on from them, and they will move on from the game,” Ganguly said in an interview with PTI.
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Despite a poor 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar campaign with the bat, Virat Kohli was primed to play a key role in Team India’s tour of England to kickstart the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. But, he dropped a bombshell by announcing his Test retirement before the tour itself.
“Retirement should happen when people ask ‘Why?’ and not ‘Why not?’ As a player, you always know your place. He knew he didn’t have the best of 5 years in Tests but champions like him find ways to rediscover themselves. If Virat was on this England tour, I’m confident he would’ve scored heavily. But he felt it was time to go,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly also praised current head coach Gautam Gambhir, who he feels, has picked up pace as coach since the Champions Trophy win in Dubai earlier this year.
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“Gautam (Gambhir) is doing a good job. He started off a little slow, losing to Australia and New Zealand, but he picked up with the Champions Trophy. This is going to be a big series (vs England),” Ganguly said. “I haven’t seen him from very close in this role, but I know he is very passionate. I haven’t observed his strategies closely because I haven’t worked with him as a coach.”
“He’s very straightforward, he sees things clearly, and he’s very open about what he feels, about the team, players, people, everything. From the outside, you can tell he’s a very transparent person – what you see is what you get. I’ve played with him. He was a great guy with a lot of respect for me and the senior players. Even now, I can see he is extremely passionate about his job. I wish him all the best. He’s just a year into the job, and this will be an important (England) tour. He struggled a bit in Australia, but just like everyone else, he’ll learn, he’ll grow, and he’ll become better,” Sourav Ganguly concluded.
