Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli Felicitated: The date of 11 January 2026 was very special for Kotambi Stadium of Vadodara. The first match of the ODI series between India and New Zealand was played here, which was the first men's international match in this stadium. During the break in the middle of the match, Baroda Cricket Association also honored two legends of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, in a unique and funny way, which has become a topic of discussion on social media.
The felicitation ceremony took place in the presence of approximately 35,000 fans at the Kotambi Stadium, where ICC President Jay Shah and BCCI President Mithun Manhas were also present. During this, bouquets of flowers were presented to both the players, but the real fun came when a big cupboard was used to pay respect. This cupboard was decorated with life-size stickers of Rohit and Virat. When their names were called, the doors of the cupboard were opened and both the players came out from inside, as if an 'unboxing' was taking place.
Honoring the icons of the game
ICC Chair Mr. Jay Shah, Baroda Cricket Association President Mr. Pranav Amin and BCCI Office Bearers felicitate #TeamIndia legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli@JayShah , @MithunManhas , @ShuklaRajiv , @ImRo45 , @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/yBxiharONn
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2026
This creative idea was so interesting that it went viral on social media in no time. Fans even called it 'out of the box' congratulations. Both the veterans also accepted the bouquets laughing. Photos and videos related to this moment are becoming quite viral on social media. The enthusiasm of Rohit-Virat was already high among the fans, upon their arrival in the city a crowd had gathered outside the hotel. Before this match and after this felicitation, the entire stadium echoed with slogans of 'Rohit...Virat...'.
Rohit Sharma could not do anything special in this match. He got a good start, but could not convert it into a big score. In this match, Rohit played an innings of 26 runs in 29 balls, during which 3 fours and 2 sixes were seen from Rohit's bat. That means he scored 24 runs only from boundaries. But Kyle Jamieson managed to get his wicket.
