Legendary opener Virender Sehwag dismissed concerns about a drop in fan interest following the Test retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin, asserting that cricket's popularity in India transcends individual players.
Notably, Kohli and Rohit called time on their Test careers in May 2025, while Ashwin retired from all formats six months earlier, leaving a major void in India’s red-ball squad. After their exits, it was claimed that the viewership of Indian Test cricket will go down drastically.
However, Sehwag countered such claims in his inimitable style. He pointed out that the devoted fans often threaten to quit watching once their favorite icons retire, and this exact sentiment was previously echoed when legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Sachin Tendulkar hung up their boots. Yet, the sport only grew in popularity
Sehwag also emphasized that viewership has actually grown because matches moved from restricted television broadcasts to accessible mobile platforms where scores and games can be viewed anywhere
"Log kehte zaroor hain, unke fans kehte hain ki hum Virat Kohli ke liye cricket dekhte hain ya Rohit Sharma ke liye dekhte hain. Par aisa toh Sunil Gavaskar ke liye bhi kaha jata tha, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar ke liye bhi kaha jata tha (People do say that they watch cricket just for Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma. But the same thing used to be said for Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar)," Sehwag said, in an interaction with News18.
"Yet, people are still watching as much cricket as they used to before. In fact, more people are watching now because earlier it used to come on TV, but now it is available on mobile phones. It has become even easier," he added.
Sehwag further stated that fans might temporarily or partially stop following a specific athlete, but the sport itself is driven by a larger ecosystem rather than just single individuals.
"So, to say that if this player retires, we won't watch cricket anymore, maybe some of their fans won't. I have also heard people say, 'You stopped playing, so we stopped watching,' but that's not really the case. They probably still watch a little bit.
"Agar cricketers se hi game chal rahi hoti, toh ab tak band ho jati (If only cricketers were the ones driving the game, it would've stopped by now)," he remarked.
