'Trophy le aana Hitman and King' - Fans react as Virat Kohli praises Rohit Sharma ahead of WTC final, says Indian captain deserves all the hype

Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

India are set to lock horns with Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval from June 7, with Rohit Sharma and co aiming to end their trophy drought in major world events. As two international cricket giants fight in the ultimate Test, India will look on its veteran batters such as Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara to light up the event.

The last time the Indian captain played at the Oval, he hammered a century against England, and Kohli expects a similar performance from him against Australia as well. They were questions over Rohit’s ability to play in swinging conditions ahead of India’s 2021 tour of England. But the right-handed batter slammed all his critics, scoring a brilliant 127 off 256 balls in the second innings to help India win by 157 runs.

Speaking ahead of the WTC final, Kohli told Cricket Governing Body that he hopes Rohit can play a big knock against Australia. "I’ve had amazing partnerships with him and I have thoroughly enjoyed it from the other end when he’s going great guns. He’s performed really well in these conditions . The last time around, he got a hundred at The Oval. Hopefully, he can repeat the same in this final as well," he said.

Opening is not an easy job and he has done a wonderful job: Kohli

As Rohit plays his 50th Test against Australia, he is just 27 runs away from reaching a milestone - 13,000 runs in international cricket as an opener. The 36-year-old's career in the longer format took a major turn when he became the opener in 2019. He averages 52.76 with 6 hundreds and 4 half-centuries from 36 innings since then.

"What Rohit has done in White ball cricket for a long period, everyone knew his talent but the way he performed in tests in last few years showed his belief that he can do it in tests at the highest level," Kohli said.

"Opening is not an easy job and he has done a wonderful job opening the innings for us in the last three-four years. He’s really performed amazingly well in all formats of the game for us in the recent past and someone that when you watch him play, you enjoy it,” the 34-year-old added.

Here's how fans reacted to Virat Kohli's comments on Rohit Sharma ahead of the WTC final:

Well said virat.. dear virat and Rohit fans it’s time to unite.. stop abusing each other and let’s unite as a team

— Nitin jain(Sachinsuperfan) (@NitinSachinist) June 7, 2023

All the best to both Hitman and king❤️ trophy le aana

— how do ik (@hrk_bhamiya) June 7, 2023

That's Kohli for you he will celebrate from other end like no other he will praise like no other

You cant expect this kind of words from RO , he won't even mentioned many times in post match presentation

— Chandoo (@Chandugaduuuu) June 7, 2023

This duo will fire this week ❤️

— Divyanshu Rajput (@DKRajput_4) June 7, 2023

But Their fans pic.twitter.com/V6xGUxfR0c

— anujk (@anuj619baba) June 7, 2023

It's time for toxic fans of Virat and Rohit to stop abusing eachother and support both of them

— Prawin (@PraveenT_INDIAN) June 7, 2023

Kohli gave test career to Rohit Sharma💪

— Kohlified. (@123perthclassic) June 7, 2023

Kohli knows to appreciate talent ❤️

— Nishita Sarma ॐ (@Kohli_Spark) June 7, 2023

It is the duty of the King to praise his commander in front of the subjects 🙌

— Kabir Khan (@kabirk948) June 7, 2023