While the BCCI Naman Awards celebrated a historic season of Indian cricket, the absence of the nation’s two biggest sports icons, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, was the most discussed topic among fans. They clearly missed their presence and flooded the social media posts on Ro-Ko’s absence.
Take a look at some of the social media reactions here:
Notably, the 2024-25 season awards heavily featured performances in Test and T20 matches, where Shubman Gill (Test/ODI Captain) and Suryakumar Yadav (T20I Captain) led the charge. Even though it was Rohit who was the captain of the ICC Champions Trophy winning team with Kohli on the side, both gave the award night a miss.
Headline Winners
Kohli is managing his schedule ahead of the RCB Unbox event likely on March 20 or 22 and the team’s opening fixture
Moreover, the duo also wants to spend as much time as possible with their family in this stage of their careers.
“Once I am done, I will be gone, you won’t see me for a while (smiles). So I want to give it everything I have till the time I play, and that’s the only thing that keeps me going,” Kohli had said in an old interview shared by RCB on their social media. He chooses to stay with his family in the United Kingdom, when not playing cricket.
Kohli, meanwhile, is managing his schedule ahead of the RCB Unbox event likely March 20 and 22 and the team’s opening fixtures.
Meanwhile, the duo also wants to spend as much time as possible with their family in the latter stage of their careers.
“Once I am done, I will be gone, you won’t see me for a while (smiles). So I want to give it everything I have till the time I play, and that’s the only thing that keeps me going,” Kohli had said in an old interview shared by RCB on their social media. He chooses to stay with his family in the United Kingdom, when not playing cricket.
Kohli was not present at the venue for India’s T20 World Cup 2026 final in Ahmedabad. Rohit watched from the stands as the tournament’s official ambassador. Kohli also did not attend the wedding of Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun in Mumbai either.
Rohit, in the meantime, was seen enjoying a family vacation in the Maldives, immediately after the T20 World Cup.
Neither the board nor the players have issued an official statement regarding their absence.
The transition milestone
The 2026 awards marked a symbolic passing of the baton. While Shubman Gill won the Polly Umrigar Award (Men’s International Cricketer of the Year) for the second time, Smriti Mandhana equalled Kohli’s record of five titles.