Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma Made India A “Super Brand”

Indian cricket will be hard-pressed to find replacements for the retired-from-Test-cricket stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both began their careers when first class cricket (three-day cricket to five-day Tests) had primacy in the ecosystem. Kohli and Sharma were raised in the tough world of Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. There were other tournaments like the Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Challenger tournaments, but there is no denying the fact that the Ranji Trophy shaped their international careers that they made distinguished by keeping the cricket fan in mind and entertaining them, integrating all with their overall competitive streak. For 18 seasons they have plied their trade in the trailblazing Indian Premier League and have become legends amassing runs in the Twenty20 razzmatazz. Kohli was a product of Delhi’s hot-weather and other limited over tournaments. For Sharma Mumbai’s excellent club level cricket worked for him. After the exit of the “Fab-4” in Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, Indian cricket advertised itself on the fantastic accomplishments of its batters and captains in MS Dhoni, Kohli and Sharma. There has been some fine achievements by the bowlers too. For the cricket fans etched in their memory would by the deeds they achieved in white ball competitions (50 overs and Twenty20) at Kingsmead, Wankhede, Bridgetown and Dubai, but ultimately in Test cricket. India has been lucky to unearth talent out of its domestic system and build a brand to appeal to budding talents, and to the corporate and media world; the likes of Kohli and Sharma made India a “Super Brand” and have fascinated the purists and others alike.