The T20 World Cup victory was an icing on the cake for modern-day greats Rohit and Virat and both called time on their T20I careers after India edged South Africa to clinch their second T20 World Cup title in Barbados.
The two batting stalwarts carried the dreams of India for over 15 years and ended the shortest format at their peak.
In a viral video, former Indian spinner Amit Mishra tells what separates Rohit from Virat.
Amit Mishra says during a podcast, “The difference is in the nature. Rohit is very open with his players. A very good thing about Rohit is that when I met him for the first time, he is the same like he is now. So who would you relate to more – the one who stays the same or the one who changes according to the situation?”
On being asked if he has seen any change in Virat Kohli, Mishra says, “Yes, very much. There was hardly any talk between us.”
On being asked if captaincy was the reason behind it, Mishra says, “Yes of course. Fame and power were the reasons, because when you get power, you feel everybody is talking to you for a reason. Virat Kohli changed a lot after getting fame, power and captaincy.”
Kohli hardly made any runs in the T20 World Cup, but his match-winning 76 earned him the player of the final award, and Rohit led the team from the front with three half-centuries in the tournament, in which India remained unbeaten.
Kohli, 35, won his second World Cup crown after the 2011 ODI win under MS Dhoni, who also led India to title victory in T20’s showpiece event in 2007 at the inaugural edition.
A rookie Rohit, now 37, was part of the first T20 triumph when India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Johannesburg in 2007.
The two stalwarts, who have 45,961 runs between them across three international formats, will stay on in Test and ODI cricket.
The T20 triumph has been redemption for Rohit, who was stripped of his IPL captaincy from Mumbai Indians this year.
Kohli proved his big-match credentials, with his 59-ball 76 in the final clash — after he managed just 75 runs in seven innings during the competition until the finale.
Rohit succeeded Kohli as white-ball skipper in 2021 and became all-format captain months later and broke India’s global title drought since their Champions Trophy win in 2013.