Virat Kohli reached Sri Lanka exactly a month after India’s T20 World Cup Victory
3 min read
It’s the GOAT moment. That’s what everyone is talking about on the internet, anyhow. Virat Kohli landed in Sri Lanka for the three-match ODI series that begins on August 2, precisely one month after India’s historic victory in the T20 World Cup. After their separate holidays, skipper Rohit Sharma and player Kohli arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday night and Monday morning. Kohli returns to play after spending the previous month on vacation in London with wife Anushka Sharma and children Vamika and Akaay, while Rohit was traveling throughout the United States.
Eyes on Virat and Rohit
The attention now switches to the ODIs, where Kohli and Rohit will make their comebacks, after India easily won the T20I series with a 2-0 lead. After the 2023 World Cup final, Rohit or Kohli will not play in an ODI till now. Nothing will ease the agony of what happened on November 19, not even winning the T20 World Cup. However, with the Champions Trophy at stake a competition that Rohit and Kohli both won as teammates in 2013 and almost won again in 2017 the two legends would be very motivated.
But the one feature of the ODI series that fans are sure to be interested in is the pairing of Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. After their nasty altercation the previous year, the now-rival IPL teams from India appear to have moved on. If sources are to be believed, Kohli was originally scheduled to miss the whole Sri Lankan tour, but he decided to make the trip a priority because these were Gambhir‘s first two series as India’s coach. Monday’s practice session between senior players Kohli and Rohit attracted a lot of interest as they were ready to work together for the first time since the World Cup final. But rain had other ideas and ruined Ro-Ko’s much anticipated hit-out in the nets.
The reunion of Virat and Gambhir halted
When it happens, Gambhir and Kohli will be playing together again for India for the first time since 2016. Eight years have passed since Gambhir last appeared for India in a home Test series against England while Kohli was captain. In the same series, Kohli crushed 655 runs to take home the Player of the Series trophy.
The past between Gambhir and Kohli is abundant. Their association dates back to their days as Delhi’s Ranji Trophy players. One was a senior teammate and the other a junior one, and they were together when India won the 2011 World Cup at home. However, as Gambhir’s career began to wind down in 2012 or 2013, Kohli’s really took off. Twelve years later, it’s still rising, and even if the star Indian announced his retirement, we can still anticipate more from him since, should India make it to the final, there is still a World Test Championship and a CT to win.
