Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Set For Potential Final Tango For India In T20Is

This Saturday afternoon in Barbados, no Indian fan would want Rohit Sharma to drag his jaded body towards the dug-out trying to hide a tear welling up at the corner of his eye. No Indian fan would want to revisit Virat Kohli's blank stare towards the podium where the coveted ODI World Cup trophy rested exactly seven months and 10 days back. What they would surely want is to see the two greats do a memorable tango in probably their 'Last Dance' in the game's shortest format, at least in India colours. If one understands the drift of Indian cricket's ecosystem, whether it is the BCCI mandarins or the national selectors, they want the troika of Kohli, Rohit and also Ravindra Jadeja to go out on a high from the format.

This is because next month's Zimbabwe series would certainly usher in a new dawn keeping in mind the 2026 T20 World Cup in India.

To prepare for any global trophy, the core needs to be finalised two years in advance and in 2026, a 39-year-old Rohit or a nearly 38-year-old Kohli or even Jadeja are unlikely to fit in.

At this point, with the focus firmly on the final, no one wants to use the sensitive 'R' word as far as T20Is are concerned but it is believed that if India can beat South Africa in Barbados on Saturday, both skipper Rohit and Kohli would know that in this format, they have nothing more left to achieve.

There may or may not be a formal announcement as they would continue be a part of IPL, where they are still two of the biggest brands apart from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the non-cricketer -- Shah Rukh Khan.

For Kohli, it will be the completion a of cycle with all three ICC white-ball trophies (2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy) in his cabinet.

Just like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar