Ravichandran Ashwin explicitly backed Rohit Sharma to transition into a coaching or mentoring role with the Mumbai Indians (MI), while expressing starkly contrasting views on Virat Kohli's post-retirement future.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Indian off-spinner explained his rationale regarding how both batting greats might approach life after their playing days conclude.
Ashwin urged MI to include Rohit into their strategic setup—potentially as a mentor or Director of Cricket—the moment he calls time on his playing career. He highlighted Rohit's exceptional leadership, noting that a captain who won five IPL titles and guided India to a World Cup victory possesses rare tactical acumen.
Ashwin acknowledged that while a head coach's job is highly demanding, Rohit could replicate Rahul Dravid's trajectory by taking a brief one-to-two-year break before stepping into a major management or mentoring role.
Conversely, Ashwin doubted that Kohli would jump straight into any coaching commitments. He reiterated Kohli's previously shared sentiments about wanting an absolute break from the public eye and the sport once his playing career wraps up.
“I don’t think Virat will be ready to become a coach immediately," Ashwin said. “I think both have worked a lot. Maybe Rohit Sharma could come into the Mumbai Indians in some capacity. I don’t know about Virat, honestly—Virat will probably want to take a break, in my opinion."
Ashwin highlighted that the growing scale of franchise leagues will create diverse, specialist post-retirement roles for elite players, such as mentorship and high-performance management, moving beyond traditional coaching. He specifically noted someone like Rohit could transition smoothly into such organizational capacities.
“If tomorrow Rohit decides ‘I won’t play,’ Mumbai Indians should immediately absorb him. A captain who won five titles and led India to a World Cup—you won’t find such people. If he doesn’t want to be head coach because it’s a labor-intensive role, but after a one-two year break, he’ll be ready to take up a role. Like Rahul bhai took a break and then came back to work. So I think they should immediately absorb such cricketers and not let them go. And knowing the Mumbai Indians, they won’t let go of a player with Rohit Sharma’s thinking capacity," he added.
