Veteran Indian opening batter Rohit Sharma has opened up about the origin of the ‘Ro-Ko’ tag and his relationship with the talismanic Indian batter Virat Kohli over the years. Notably, the duo retired from T20Is and Tests to focus on the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Speaking in an exclusive interaction with JioStar, Rohit delved into the details of when they first came together across the viral ‘Ro-Ko’ term. Delving into the details, the Hitman recalled that this had started when India played against Australia.
“I think we were together. This started, I think, when we were playing in Australia, or right after Australia, when we came to India. That’s when this started, and whenever this plays on TV, we look at each other and laugh. Which is good, it’s fun. People want masala, so there you go, there is some masala,” Rohit said.
“Ro-Ko has a nice ring to it. It sounds nice, it sounds good, and people are having a lot of fun with it. Now that we only play one format, even from the broadcaster’s perspective, I’m sure it’s a very nice tagline to use – ‘Oh, Ro-Ko aa gaye! They are back,” Kohli recently told JioHotstar.
While Rohit made his debut in 2008 and emerged as one of the most successful opening batters in ODI cricket, Kohli became only the second player after legendary Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 runs in ODIs.
“There’s a strong camaraderie between the two of us, and we understand what it requires to be at a certain level when you’re playing at this level. Methods are different, obviously, but that’s how it should be, every individual is different. For what he has done for the team, for this team, there is no question, there is no asking what he has done. It’s there for everyone to see it. And what he is going to do from here on now, I don’t think anything has changed,” Rohit stated.
“He’ll be the same Kohli that we know of: wants to come, prepare well, go get the runs, win games for Team India. Yeah, that’s what I see with him. When he was captain, pretty much the same. When I was captain, pretty much the same. And I don’t see any reason why anything needs to change,” he concluded.
