"The game will eventually move on from them" - Sourav Ganguly's stunning claim on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's ODI future amid ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly admitted that cricket will continue on its path even after stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retire, whenever the time comes. The two legends have already retired from T20I and Test cricket, and are reportedly eyeing the 2027 ODI World Cup as a potential grand swansong.

However, playing just one format, that too with the reduced number of ODIs in the cricketing calendar, will prove to be tricky. The increase in franchise tournaments, devoted attention to T20Is, and the World Test Championship (WTC) have led to a drastic decline in ODI cricket's presence in the cricketing calendar.

Team India last played in the 50-over format in the 2025 Champions Trophy in February-March, and their next ODI match is lined up against Bangladesh in August. According to the Future Tours Programme (FTP), India have been allotted 27 ODI matches until the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Sourav Ganguly feels that maintaining fitness while playing just 15 matches a year might prove to be difficult, while adding that the game will move on from them.

"It won’t be easy, fifteen games a year. I’ve got no advice. I think they know the game as much as I do, and they (Rohit & Virat) will make their own decisions. But all of us must understand that, like everyone else, the game will eventually move on from them, and they will move on from the game," Ganguly said in an interview with PTI.

The red-ball format has started to move on from the pair as the new-look Team India, under Shubman Gill, made a solid first impression against England in the series opener at Headingley, Leeds.

"If Virat was on this England tour, I’m confident he would’ve scored heavily" - Sourav Ganguly on Kohli's Test retirement

Despite a woeful 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar campaign with the bat, Virat Kohli was primed to play a starring role in Team India's tour of England to kickstart the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. However, the former captain dropped a bombshell by announcing his Test retirement before the tour itself.

“Retirement should happen when people ask ‘Why?’ and not ‘Why not?’ As a player, you always know your place. He knew he didn't have the best of 5 years in Tests but champions like him find ways to rediscover themselves. If Virat was on this England tour, I’m confident he would’ve scored heavily. But he felt it was time to go," Ganguly said.

Virat Kohli was last seen in action during the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), playing a starring role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) triumph. With ODIs now his sole focus in international cricket, he will be on show towards the end of the year when India face the likes of Australia and South Africa.