Rohit-Kohli’s first player-only ODI assignment since the MS Dhoni era:Legendary duo smashed fifties on their last appearance under a different captain in 2016

Both Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma will be playing solely as players for the first time after a long period of eight years. The last time these two star cricketers played under a different captain was back in 2016, under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Also Read | 8 records Rohit Sharma can shatter during Australia tour Ro-Ko, now at the twilight of their careers, will play under the new age leadership of Shubman Gill. When Kohli-Rohit last appeared in an ODI under a new captain, it kicked off a new era under the leadership of Virat Kohli. Now, with Shubman Gill at the helm of India’s ODI team, Ro-Ko might be heading toward their horizon, although both of them are optimistic for the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup. Before Rohit-Kohli’s return to international cricket after seven months, let’s take a look at the last time both of them were budding stars playing under one of the greatest Indian captains, MS Dhoni. Double dose of half-centuries: Last time Rohit, Kohli appeared only as players together in an ODI The last time Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma played an ODI game just as players together under a different captain was on October 29, 2016. It was the last game of the five-match ODI series at home that India played against New Zealand. Notably, in that match, Kohli had scored 65 runs off 76 balls at a strike rate of 85.52. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma played a knock of 70 runs off 65 balls at a strike rate of 107.69. The fifth ODI match took place at Visakhapatnam, where India scored 269 for 6 wickets while batting first. New Zealand then crumbled against Amit Mishra’s fifer and got all out for 79 runs in 23.1 overs. The legendary duo was at different stages of their career at that time and played under the captaincy of MS Dhoni without any title. An ODI series of sheer domination: When Kohli’s fifty was India’s magic charm Also, the last ODI match that Kohli, Rohit attended as players was part of a five-match ODI series between India and New Zealand that the hosts sealed by 3-2. And the highlight of the series was whenever Kohli scored a half-century or more than a hundred runs, India won the game. That’s why the two one-day matches in which Kohli could not go beyond the 50-run mark ended in the Men in Blue’s defeat. Meanwhile, in the rest of the three games in which Virat was impeccable, the hosts secured victory in those games. ‘Won’t give up’ – Virat Kohli ends retirement speculation On the other hand, it was not a great series in terms of batting performance for Rohit Sharma. He was only able to cross the fifty-run threshold in the last match of the ODI series vs New Zealand at home.