This is a question that now brings the weight of the purpose. For the first time in more than three years, and for the first time in what looks like an entire generation, India goes to the test field without Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma in the XI.In the space of only a week, the pillars of the Red ball striker from India have moved away from the longest format. On May 7, Rohit Sharma quietly announced his Test Cricket retirement. And now, Virat Kohli, in an emotional Instagram post, has followed suit:“It has been 14 years that I have not worn ample blue …”, he wrote, signaling the end of a remarkable test course that started in 2011 and shaped the heart rate of Indian cricket for more than a decade.Together, Kohli and Rohit have defined an era. For almost 10 years, the two have been the spine of the Test test of India, taking the fight in all corners of the Adelaide cricket world in Lord, from Chepauk to Cape Town. Their presence has become so constant, so expected, that the imagination of a test XI without them does not seem familiar, almost surreal.But soon, fans will have to face this reality. The visit of India in England in July 2025 will mark a new chapter, which will start without the familiar view of n ° 18 and n ° 45 which are headed for Bat in the whites.Quiz: Who is this IPL player?The last time India played a test without Kohli and Rohit was back in January 2022, during the second match of the series against South Africa in Johannesburg. Kohli, the then captain, missed the match due to an upper back spasm. Rohit was absent for the whole series, recovering from an injury to the hamstrings. Kl Rahul led the team on this occasion, but India failed, losing the seven -checking test – and later the 2-1 series. This series also marked the end of Kohli’s mandate as an India test captain.
Between them, Kohli and Rohit played 190 tests, amazing 13,531 points, 44 centuries and countless memories. Their combined absence leaves a cavernous vacuum not only in number, but in the presence, in aura, in leadership.While India is preparing for the next generation to take the mantle, whether Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, or others the locker room and the terrain, will undoubtedly feel more empty. The bat will not run in the same way. The walk to the fold will not have the same fire. Whites will not sparkle with the same familiarity.This is the end of an era and the start of a new one.
