IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli look to delay ‘Father Time’ as Shubman Gill era begins

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli hadn't played for India since March and their last competitive match came in June.

Father Time. These two words have different meanings in life and sports. To preserve time, no pun intended, let’s only talk about sports here. The term is used as a metaphor to describe how an athlete’s physical abilities diminish with time due to age, which leads to a decline in performance and ultimately in retirement.

How Father Time works

Athletes across sports wish to beat Father Time. But there’s only so much one can do. Novak Djokovic, often labelled as the greatest tennis player, was winning this war until 2023. But in the last two years, physical decline, along with greats like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, has caught up with him.

Two of the biggest cricket superstars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are fighting this very battle. In May, both retired from Test cricket. While Kohli’s red-ball game was on the wane since 2020, Rohit’s slump came out of nowhere. Within months, both were gone. That’s just how quickly it happens.

Colouring your beard, like Kohli did upon his India arrival, or losing weight at 38 can’t stop what’s coming. Yes, James Anderson continues to succeed at 43 and only recently extended his contract with Lancashire, but he doesn’t live with the same scrutiny that Rohit and Kohli do.

For nearly a decade, they have been torchbearers of Indian cricket. But their ‘time’ has passed. Shubman Gill, who was announced as India’s new ODI captain, has become the face of Indian cricket that Kohli and then Rohit once were. With each passing day, questions will be asked about them.

Stars of a bygone era

Narratives around them, sticking around for the 2027 ODI World Cup, are already in place. For all their service to Indian cricket, ‘non-committal’ is how their chances of playing have been described by none other than Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar. This is merely a reflection of what cricket and the life of a sportsman are.

Father Time is undefeated. But it can be delayed. Djokovic did that, much like his senior, Roger Federer, did. But sooner or later, it will catch up. On the eve of the Perth ODI, Rohit and Kohli will be thinking of extending that golden run. Of delaying hanging their boots or being pushed out forcefully.

Runs will be the currency they’ll deal with now, much like before. But the significance of a failure won’t be what it was in 2015. Agarkar may say that they won’t be judged after each match or series, but who decides what the reaction will be to each failure or success?

Captaincy, name, or fame won’t save them. Lurking in the shadows are Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, and Abhishek Sharma, to name a few. Watching over, like scavengers waiting for their prey to die. That ‘death or father time’ will come, but for now, Rohit and Kohli will want to delay it.