Ashwin compared Kohli and Rohit's situation with bowlers Shami and Siraj.
Given their outstanding accomplishments and big fan base, former India off-spinner R. Ashwin feels it is nearly impossible to drop senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the Indian team, and they’ll play as long as they wish to continue playing.
For more than 15 years, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the cornerstones of Indian cricket, and it will be difficult to exclude them from the national squad as long as they continue to play well.
Ashwin thinks the two have a degree of protection that bowlers never get. He also said that famous batters like Rohit and Virat have unrivaled influence due to their accomplishments and enormous fan base, whereas bowlers like Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj are more likely to be dropped despite their performances.
Siraj last played for India in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, while Shami has not played for the Indian team since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai.
"No one will be able to touch Virat or Rohit if they want to continue playing because both have incredible credentials. Rohit has more than 12,000 international runs, and both of them have consistently delivered for India. They are batters, and they have massive fan armies. People come to the stadiums to watch them. If you drop either of them, the noise will be deafening," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat.
"If Shami isn't picked, or Siraj isn't picked, or Bhuvneshwar isn't picked, maybe 10 people will ask questions, then 100, 1,000, or even 10,000 at most. But it won't create the same uproar. That's the difference. If bowlers also started receiving that kind of support, they too would become undroppable. But the reality is that dropping Virat or Rohit is almost impossible," he added.