"Sourav Ganguly gave Indian cricket a new spine. MS Dhoni brought ice-cold leadership and white-ball dominance. But Kohli? Kohli lit the fire," says Greg Chappell, writing for ESPNCricinfo.
When Virat Kohli signed off from Test cricket, he didn’t just close a chapter — he left behind an entire volume of Indian cricket’s most aggressive, ambitious, and uncompromising era in whites.
In the words of Greg Chappell, the former Australia captain and India coach, Kohli didn’t just transform the team, he redefined the attitude. “He tore the script and authored a new one, where India was not just competitive abroad but expected to win.”
Kohli’s retirement, barely a week after Rohit Sharma also bowed out from the longest format, has plunged Indian Test cricket into a moment of truth. This is more than just the exit of two generational greats. It’s about what and who comes next?
As Shane Warne once said, “You've got the biggest superstar on the planet in Virat Kohli saying that Test cricket is important.” That importance now needs a new voice, a new custodian.
But is Indian cricket ready for that?
For now, it seems not. Rohit’s final few months as Test captain were shaped by behind-the-scenes frictions. During the Australia tour earlier this year, head coach Gautam Gambhir had to step in to reassert discipline.
Reports of dressing room power plays and players eyeing captaincy emerged, reaching a head during the Sydney Test, where Rohit uncharacteristically dropped himself. In an emotional interview, he said: “Let them earn it... No one gave it to us on a plate.”
With Kohli and Rohit gone, the leadership vacuum is real. The team is left to be helmed by players who, as Rohit put it, “haven’t earned it yet.”
Jasprit Bumrah, India’s most impactful bowler, has a fragile body that may not last five Tests in a row. Mohammed Shami is just returning from injury. KL Rahul has grace and maturity, but he still needs to prove that he can last the grind of a Test series.
Ravindra Jadeja is the longest-standing veteran in the squad now, having outlasted Ravichandran Ashwin, Kohli, and Rohit — but even he wasn’t trusted fully by Gambhir at the start of the Australia series.
India stands at a strange crossroads — rich in talent but light on tested leadership. This is a team that grew up under the tutelage of giants, but must now learn to walk its own path in the oldest, toughest format of the game.
Kohli’s fire, Ganguly’s spine, Dhoni’s calm — these were earned legacies. Who among the current lot is ready to do the same?
Test cricket doesn’t need stars — it needs believers. And in India, post-Kohli and Rohit, the search for a new torchbearer begins.
