Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Earn Huge Praise From Ex-India Star: "The Moment They Go, Level Gets Elevated"
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have already called time on their careers in T20Is and Tests, remaining active only in the ODI format.
- Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are part of their respective state teams in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26
- Their participation significantly raised the profile and competitive level of the domestic tournament
- "The moment they go, the level gets elevated," said Aakash Chopra on the presence of the duo in the tournament
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's presence in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Both Virat and Rohit have already called time on their careers in T20Is and Tests, remaining active only in the ODI format. As India had a month gap between the concluded South Africa ODIs and the upcoming matches against New Zealand, the two players showed up for their respective state teams in the domestic tournament. The mere presence of Virat and Rohit made the ongoing edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy the centre of attraction, and their impressive performances just added to the craze of the fans.
Chopra said that the duo of Virat and Rohit elevated the level of the tournament.
"Rohit and Kohli have scored runs, and they had to score runs. One scored in Jaipur and the other in the COE (Center of Excellence). One demolished Sikkim and the other thrashed Andhra, which was nice to see. Suddenly, domestic cricket became a part of the conversation," the former India batter said on his YouTube channel.
While Rohit scored 155 and 0 in the first two games for Mumbai, Kohli too smashed 131 and 77 for Delhi.
"If Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma go, they are going to score a lot of runs. It's not like they were going to struggle, and it's not like they won't be selected if they don't score runs here, but the moment they go, the level gets elevated. You suddenly become a point of discussion in mainstream news, and that's what you want," he added.
Chorpa questioned the difference of quality between the competing sides as the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches saw big score being piled up.
"Everyone is scoring hundreds. 400 is being chased somewhere and 560-plus is being scored somewhere else. It's a serious question. What about the standard? So many runs have been scored. Do you actually value the runs then? If 550-plus runs are being scored and 300 runs are being chased in 30 overs, that's not good," he observed.
"Actually, it's a poor reflection. It happened after the Lodha committee, when so many states were added. Teams were added, but the infrastructure and the path from bottom to top weren't prepared. It was a flawed system. The gap is phenomenal," he added.
India Cricket Team
Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma