Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Retiring From ODIs Too? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral ‘ICC Rankings’ Excluding The Duo

Just months after star Indian cricketing duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements from Tests, making ODIs the only format they are active in, several social media users are circulating a purported ICC ODI batting rankings list that does not feature the two. 

The disappearance of Sharma and Kohli from the top 100 fuelled online speculation that they are signing off their international careers, as players are usually dropped from the list only after retirement.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Fact Check

Newschecker first looked up the official ICC ODI batting rankings on the website, where we found Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ranked at number two and four respectively, contradicting the viral list.

We then ran a keyword search for “Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli ODI retirement,” which led us to this Times Of India report, dated August 21, 2025, headlined, “Shock in cricket world! ICC breaks silence after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli go missing from ODI rankings.”  We learnt that Rohit and Kohli, both of whom had retired from T20Is last year, had been briefly removed from the latest ICC ODI batting rankings released on Wednesday. 

“A technical error briefly removed Indian cricket stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the ICC ODI batting rankings, causing confusion as both remain active in the format. Sharma, recently ranked No. 2, and Kohli, at fourth, disappeared from the top 100 before being swiftly reinstated by the ICC after investigation,” read the report.

An ICC spokesperson admitted to The Hindustan Times that there was a mistake, saying, “There was an error in our rankings tables today, but it has been rectified.”  Similar news reports on ICC’s clarification can be seen here, here and here, further confirming that the viral list was being shared out of context.

Also Read: Viral Video Shows Religious Procession In Maharashtra, Not Crowd At Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’

Conclusion

The viral claim that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been removed from ODI rankings, indicating their retirements, was found to be misleading as a technical glitch had caused the brief disappearance of the two from the list on the ICC website.

Sources
ICC website
Hindustan TImes report, August 21, 2025