Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 6 (ANI): Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI), star India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli reflected on his bonding with former MI skipper and star batter Rohit Sharma, with whom he has enjoyed 17 prolific years as an international cricketer.

It would be a clash of titans at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as Rohit and Virat, collectively known as 'Ro-Ko' will be playing against each other just almost a month after starring in India's Champions Trophy win. While RCB is placed in the second spot with two wins and a loss and has won both their away games so far against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), MI is at the eighth spot in the table with just one win and three losses.

Speaking ahead of the clash in a video posted by RCB's official X handle, Virat said about Rohit that it is natural to have such a great bond with someone when they play with them for so long and share insights about the game.

https://x.com/RCBTweets/status/1908708740448260528

'I think it is a very natural thing to take place when you play with someone for so long and you share so much of your insight of the game initially, your learning from each other, you are kind of growing in your careers at probably the same time, and you share all kind of queries and questions,' said Virat.

Virat also revealed that he and Rohit, who have played for India in each other's captaincy, work closely in terms of leadership for Team India.

'There were always ideas discussed and more or less, we would end up on the same page in terms of the gut feel of that situation - there is a trust factor and do the job for the team,' he added.

Virat said that they have enjoyed their time together in international cricket.

'We have definitely enjoyed our time playing together, so we were able to make our careers long because when we were young, as I said, it was not certain that we would end up playing for 15 years for India. The journey for so long and consistently, very grateful and very happy for all the memories, all the moments that we've shared and continue to do so,' he concluded.

Rohit and Virat are India's two most prolific batters of the post-Sachin Tendulkar era. In 550 international matches, Virat has scored 27,599 runs at an average of 52.27, with 82 centuries and 143 fifties and best score of 254*. On the other hand, in 499 international matches, Rohit has scored 19,700 runs at an average of 42.18, with 49 centuries and 108 fifties and best score of 108. Together, they have won the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and 2025 and ICC T20 World Cup 2024 for India, playing a crucial role in India's title wins.

Against MI, Virat has made 855 runs at an average of 30.53 and a strike rate of over 126, with five fifties. His best score is 92*. On the other hand, Rohit has made 831 runs against RCB at an average of 27.70 and a strike rate of over 136, with seven fifties to his name and best score of 94. (ANI)