When legends are missing: A Heart that still asks

The 2026 T20 World Cup squad was made public. Individuals were pointed out, and ambitions were talked about. It was time for exultations, plans were to catch glimmers of hope.

However, my heart stopped questioning where our men are.

Where is Rohit, the hitman delight? The effortless pulls, that beaming face.

Where is Virat, that roar untamed? The monarch who followed the stars in a shattered sky.

Is the cricket World Cup complete without their presence?

Without that anger, without being lit?

Who will comfort us at 30 for 3?

Who will make us still believe in ourselves?

Rohit has made several nights shine with his bat,

Virat, on the other hand, has been a pillar of courage and strength.

In the time of storm, silence that is loud, they did the plays we had only in our dreams.

So be frank to me now, cricket’s doom, this World Cup, why does it feel so late?

Why do victories seem to be only halves, when the crowd is still longing for numbers 18 and 45 to dash?

Of course, later characters would come and attempt the feat. The Indian flag still will be flying.

However, feelings are not in accordance with logic or rules,

The heart is still keeping the record of every blow, every delight.

Will the crowd sing their name one more time?

Will that cover drive, that six in the rain, be witnessed again?

Or will we just repeat the past,

Asking the question that will always last?

World cup nights, light so bright.

But something’s missing in this fight.

So we cheer, we stay, we clap

Yet every time the rhyme ends with -we miss you.

Rohit … Virat…can you hear us, please?

Cricket feels quieter without thee.

And till the day you walk back in,

Every World Cup starts with one question within.

How do we not miss you … when you were everything.

You are not just cricketers, you are our gentle light.
In every cheer, in every tear, you turned a game into belief,
a match into a memory,a nation into one heartbeat.

From Gen Z to Gen Alpha, across time’s widening flight,
we learned to love cricket because of you
because passion wore your names.

Before heroes, before dreams, before we knew how to love anyone else,
our first cheer learned to breathe with Kohli’s fire
and Rohit’s calm thunder.

Wins felt sweeter, losses felt shared, because you stood there, bat raised,

head high,carrying hope like it was meant for you.

Not just players. Not just legends. You are the reason
This game feels like home.

Forever fans. Forever proud. Shoutout to our first heartbeat
Kohli & Rohit.