THE VETERAN CRICKETERS VIRAT KOHLI AND ROHIT SHARMA ARE NOT SPENT, YET!

• Ask any true cricket connoisseurs, renowned experts from the sport, innumerable ex-players who have played at the highest levels, and, of course, crazy fans who have watched the much-loved game for decades, about what makes a cricketer great from the ordinary. The answer will be in unison about how the class of a cricketer counts in the end analysis as permanent, as against encountering a temporary slump in form sporadically. Every cricketer worth his salt would have experienced during their exalted career ups and downs whilst plying their trade in challenging conditions and situations, facing the opposition.  No sooner than the naysayers and critics attempt to write them off, the cricketers will always rise like a phoenix to deliver the goods. Count on it.

PC: Mid-day

• Mind you, this has happened to the best of cricketers that the sport has produced over the decades. None has escaped the vagaries of the form playing hide and seek often. When everybody may concede that a cricketer’s career is almost at an end, expect to witness yet another outstanding performance to completely alter the equation yet again. The same can be attributed to two of the most accomplished performers not only for the Indian cricket team but also internationally as well. I am referring to none other than the talismanic Virat Kohli and the Hitman Rohit Sharma. Undoubtedly, both have rendered yeomen services to the cause of Indian as well as international cricket by sheer weight of their performances consistently over decades.

• The statistics of these two outstanding cricketers speak for themselves. Both have announced retirement from Tests as well as T20 internationals. But they are plying their skills in the 50-over format with great elan, much to the amazement of cricket lovers around the world. As the recently concluded three-match 50-over series against the visiting South Africa showed, both these supremely entertaining cricketers are not done yet with playing at the highest level with superb abilities. Mind you, there were questions raised about how Kohli and Sharma would contribute inthe absence of a long lay-off from international competitions. Those doubts were firmly put to rest when the superstars showed their performances have not been reduced one bit recently.

PC: Bombay Times

• Kohli scored two back-to-back centuries, followed by an undefeated 50-plus score. Sharma scored two fifties in the series. Kohli was named Man of the Series for his exploits. The fluency, grace, dominance, and ease with which both batted showed to the discerning fans their invaluable presence in the team that is transitioning. Experience, class, impact, and value cannot be brought off the shelf just like that. Two great cricketers have enough and more of all these inherently critical traits to play for another couple of years, serving the team with great aplomb. Inarguably, the class will always be permanent, and form will be temporary. Expect Rohit and Virat to don the India blue for another two years, especially till the next 50-over World Cup in South Africa.