Old colleagues met again in a new light and familial bonds were strengthened when the Indian team departed on their white-ball trip to Australia, as shared in a video by the BCCI. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli finally returned to the Indian set up after the 2025 Champions Trophy with the two stalwarts having retired from Tests and T20Is.
This was also the first time Rohit is travelling with the team just as a pure player with Shubman Gill replacing him as the skipper of the ODI format. The new captain and his processor shared a warm hug before boarding the bus from the airport while Rohit even gave a little bowl to Kohli before the two icons shared a hug in the bus. Captain Gill also shared a warm moment with Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the bus.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and pacers Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna along with some members of the support staff were also seen in the video.
India is due to play three ODIs starting Sunday in Perth followed by Adelaide and Sydney.
It will be followed by a five-match T20 International series and the format specialists will leave on October 22 tentatively. The series will begin on October 29.
The ODI series has generated significant buzz due to the chatter surrounding the future of Rohit and Kohli, both of whom are now retired from Tests and T20Is.
Coach Gautam Gambhir, after the 2-0 Test series sweep over the West Indies on Tuesday, had said that he hoped for the two to have a good outing in the upcoming assignment, while being evasive about their 2027 World Cup prospects.
“The 50-over World Cup is still two and a half years away. It is very important to stay in the present. Obviously they are quality players. They are coming back. Their experience is going to be valuable in Australia,” Gambhir had said in the post-series press conference.
“Hopefully those two guys can have a successful tour, and more importantly, as a team we can have a successful series,” Gambhir said when asked about the future of the two former skippers,” he added.
(With agency inputs)
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