Rohit Sharma’s heartwarming gesture towards Virat Kohli grabbed attention as the Indian national cricket team departed from Delhi for a white-ball tour of Australia on Wednesday (October 15) morning.
The Shubman Gill-led ODI team was seen leaving for Perth at the Delhi airport. As the Indian players boarded the team bus en route to T3 airport, Rohit Sharma’s gesture caught everyone’s attention.
Rohit Sharma’s heartfelt gesture for Virat Kohli melts hearts ahead of Australia series
In the footage shared by BCCI on social media, the former skipper can be seen initially walking past Shubman Gill, staring into the camera before hugging the new ODI captain.
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Later, Rohit Sharma was seen bowing slightly in respect while greeting Virat Kohli, who was sitting in the team bus at the airport. This moment highlights the bond and mutual admiration between two of India’s greatest cricketing icons. Well, this short exchange quickly went viral online.
Virat Kohli congratulates Shubman Gill before India’s flight to Australia
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill was all smiles as he embarked on a new journey as India’s new ODI captain after a stellar start to his career as Test captain. In the video, Virat Kohli was seen congratulating Gill before hugging the young captain inside the team bus.
Besides Gill, Rohit, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Dhruv Jhuler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harshit Rana, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna and some support staff flew from Delhi to Perth on the morning flight.
The second batch will leave for Australia on Wednesday evening. India head coach Gautam Gambhir will travel to Perth with the rest of the second team.
Shubman Gill aims for strong start as ODI captain
Shubman Gill, who won the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy with England in a 2-2 draw, started his home stint with a whitewash against West Indies. Recently, India swept West Indies in a two-match Test series at home.
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Now, the Punjab youngster is looking to get off to a strong start as ODI captain in Australia as the first ODI is scheduled to start in Perth on October 19.
The second and final ODIs are scheduled for October 23 and 25 at Adelaide Oval and Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) respectively. After the ODI leg, Suryakumar Yadav’s Men in Blue will take on Australia in a three-match T20I series starting at Manuka Oval in Canberra on October 29.
Virat Kohli’s gesture steals people’s hearts
Meanwhile, before India’s departure for Australia, Virat Kohli once again melted hearts with a beautiful gesture. Sitting in the front seat of the team bus, he noticed a boy wearing an RCB jersey holding a poster with his name on it. Kohli immediately called security to have the poster brought to him, signed it and returned it to a delighted fan, who posed proudly outside the bus.
Now, the Australia tour marks Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s long-awaited return to international cricket after eight months. They were last seen in action during India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 championship match in the United Arab Emirates.
Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar are yet to confirm whether they will qualify for the ICC World Cup 2027, but they will be keen to bat in Australia.