Good byes from Rohit, Virat expected post T20 WC

Rohit and Kohli have seen the crests and troughs of Indian cricket together for more than a decade and with nothing left to prove, an ICC Trophy will be perfect end to their glorious careers.

The T20 World Cup final to be played in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday, is of massive significance for India, given a dearth of ICC trophies in over a decade.

An in-form India will look to carry the momentum into the final ,which holds significance of another sort.

The title match will see India's old warhorses captain Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli probably play their final gigs.

And fans 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.

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

A big crop of youngsters will vie for spots on that World Cup bus in 2026, and a 39-year-old Rohit or a nearly 38-year-old Kohli or even Jadeja are unlikely to fit in.

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

Sri Lanka greats Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara decided immediately after beating India in that 2014 T20 World Cup final that they were quitting the shortest format, and one doesn't know if the two Indian greats would do something similar.

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

For Kohli, winning the T20 WC final on Saturday will be the completion a of cycle with all three ICC white-ball trophies (2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy) in his cabinet.

Kohli and Rohit, the two generational talents with 8334 T20I runs, six centuries, 69 fifties and 119 catches between them are the last bridge between the old and new and they both deserve to be in the same frame with that trophy in hand.

Both are World Cup winners but those two victories belonged to the Dhonis, Sachin Tendulkars, and Yuvraj Singhs way more. This trophy would rightfully belong to them.

One could gauge the pain in Kohli's eyes after he got out against England and if anyone wants to count the 'King' out of the final, do it at your own peril.

Rohit would still be itching for a closure after India's ODI World Cup loss last year and a win at the T20 World Cup would give him that.

Rohit and Kohli have seen the crests and troughs of Indian cricket together for more than a decade and with nothing left to prove, an ICC Trophy will be perfect end to their glorious careers.

• T20 World Cup