Rohit Sharma

On May 8, 2025, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Tests through an Instagram story. At 38, and after a poor tour of Australia (31 from five innings) during which he dropped himself from the final Test in Sydney, the writing seemed on the wall. Sharma played 67 Tests scoring 4,301 runs at an average of 40.6 with 12 hundred and 18 half-centuries. His highest score in Tests was 212.

Virat Kohli

On May 12, 2025, Virat Kohli followed suit to bring an end to a decorated Test career. After scoring a hundred in Perth in the first Test versus Australia, Kohli endured a torrid time. He eventually finished on 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs with an average of 46.9. He made 30 hundreds and 31 half-centuries, with the unbeaten 254 his highest. With 40 wins, he is statistically India’s best captain.

Sergio Busquets

On December 7, 2025, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba played the final matches of their professional careers in Inter Miami’s 3-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Busquets was one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation, and formed that famed trio at Barcelona with Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez behind the leader in Lionel Messi.

Chesteshwar Pujara

On August 24, 2025, Cheteshwar Pujara, one of the foremost Test specialists in the 21st century, retired from all forms of cricket. As No. 3, he held the Indian batting line-up together and played stellar roles in India’s twin triumphs in Australia, in 2018-19 and 2020-21. From 103 Tests, he made 7,195 runs with 19 centuries and 35 fifties.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Champion Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce retired from competitive sport in October. Gold medallist in women’s 100m at 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, Fraser-Pryce finished her career with eight Olympic medals and 17 World Championship medals.

Petra Kvitova

On August 25, 2025, two-time Wimbledon women’s singles winner Petra Kvitova retired after the U.S. Open. The star from Czechia triumphed at the All England club in 2011 and 2014, reached as high as No. 2 in the world and was part of her nation’s golden generation that won the Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) six times from 2011 to 2018. In late 2016, Kvitova even survived a knife attack and reached the final of the Australian Open in 2019.

Eliud Kipchoge

Eliud Kipchoge, the double Olympic marathon champion (2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo), retired after the New York Marathon in November. The Kenyan won 16 of the 23 competitive marathons he ran, with 11 coming at the marathon majors, making him the most decorated athlete, male or female. Kipchoge held the men’s marathon world record twice, and was even part of Nike’s Breaking2 project in 2017, the audacious attempt to break the two-hour barrier.

Rohan Bopanna

On November 1, 2025, India’s doubles star Rohan Bopanna rested his racquet at the end of the 2025 tennis season. At the 2024 Australian Open which he won alongside Matthew Ebden, Bopanna, at 43, became the oldest man to occupy the World No. 1 position and also the oldest men’s Slam winner. He finished his career with two Majors, having won the 2017 French Open mixed doubles crown with Gabriela Dabrowski. He is only one of four Indians to have won Majors, with Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza the others.

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran, West Indies’ Twenty20 record-holder for runs and appearances, retired from international cricket on June 10, 2025. Pooran, 29, made the announcement on Instagram. “Wearing that maroon, standing for the anthem, and giving everything I had each time I stepped on the field… it’s hard to put into words what that truly means to me,” he wrote. “To have led the team as captain is a privilege I will always hold close to my heart.”

Published – January 01, 2026 09:50 am IST

Virat Kohli gestures upon his arrival at New Delhi airport after winning ICC T20 World Cup 2024, on July 04, 2024.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad knows well that it will be “tough” and “hard” to replace retired Virat Kohli at number three spot in T20Is and said he is just focusing on making valuable contributions with the bat in whatever position the team leadership deems fit.

The retirement of Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja from the shortest format following the T20 World Cup triumph has opened the doors for the upcoming players and Gaikwad is one such talented batter who has the potential to seal the No. 3 spot.

“This is a big topic and I think it’s not the right point to think about it. To even compare with him (Kohli) or try to fill in his shoes is relatively very tough and very hard,” Gaikwad said on the eve of the third T20I against Zimbabwe.

“As I had said in the IPL as well, it is difficult to fill my best shoes as well. Definitely, you want to start your career, you want to start the way you want, you want to play your own game. So that’s the priority right now.

“Focus on one game, focus on how you can contribute towards the team in whichever position you play and make sure you are on the winning side more often than not.” Gaikwad has batted at No. 3 position for India in the first two T20Is against Zimbabwe but the Pune-born cricketer said he has no preference and will bat wherever the team requires him.

“No, wherever the team wants, I will bat there. There is no problem. There is not much difference between the opening and the number 3 because you have to play the new ball. So there is not much difference,” he said.

Gaikwad led the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL this year and he said captaincy has made him to get more involved in the game though it didn’t make any difference to his batting.

“Actually, to be honest, nothing has changed much. Because my batting has been the same as before. I have to play with responsibility and try and finish it on my own,” he said.

“It’s just that the way you look at the game, I think every time you are more involved now in the game since you have captained the IPL franchise for a long period of time.

“So you tend to be into the game for a longer period of time instead of just staying in the boundary outside and just focusing on one ball. As I said, batting wise it’s not made much difference.” Young opener Abhishek Sharma had spoken about how Gaikwad helped him in “keeping perspective” as he went hammer and tongs to blast a match-winning 47-ball 100 in the second T20I.

“Actually, communication is not from a senior player,” Gaikwad said.

“It comes from a batting partner because obviously with non-strikers you feel something about a particular bowler or particular conditions and you have to have that confidence to go and share with your partner whatever you feel and what are the right options, what to do in certain situations.

“Definitely this is something which I have been doing it being part of all the teams whether state team, IPL team or Indian team as well…”

Virat Kohli celebrates with the Indian flag after the team defeated South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup final in Barbados on June 29, 2024
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

Virat Kohli’s first T20I came more than 14 years ago on the tour of Zimbabwe. He made an unbeaten 26 off 21 in Harare to see India home in a 112-run chase. He batted at No. 5 then.

Fast forward to 2024 and Kohli has decided to hang up his boots from the shortest format after becoming one of the most influential No. 3 batters in the game. He had endured a difficult World Cup in the Americas, with only 75 runs in seven innings before his 76 in the final lifted India to 176 for seven. He made sure India had enough to put up a fight. Like he did all those years ago, as a 21-year-old.

Kohli not only had the runs but also the artistry. He always had an aggressive body language and a defiant shrug in the face of the most hostile bowling, riling up the opposition further. His tenure in T20Is, both as a batter and as a captain, symbolised India’s transformation.

Kohli’s greatest asset in white-ball cricket was his ability to break down targetss, earning him the sobriquet of ‘ultimate chase master’.

But the rapid evolution of T20st caught up with him. The demand for higher strike-rates and a less risk approach meant his recent years were a slow burn; it had occasional sparks of brilliance like his 53-ball 82 against Pakistan in Melbourne (2022) and the 59-ball 76 against South Africa in Barbados on Sunday.

At 35, he relentlessly pushed himself to meet modern T20 demands, showcasing his hunger to be the best. This relentless pursuit will be his lasting T20 legacy.