Virat Kohli has explained the origins and evolution of the various nicknames associated with his cricket partnerships and personal life. The India star traced how celebrity couple monikers eventually made their way into cricket discourse, creating tags for on-field partnerships that have become commonplace in modern commentary and fan culture.
During a conversation with former India Test cricketer Abhinav Mukund, Kohli broke down the entire timeline of how these nicknames emerged and spread across the sport. He pointed out that the practice of pairing names was not something that started with cricket partnerships at all, but rather had deep roots in celebrity culture well before the sport ever adopted the trend.
“You know, before these, with me and MS, they used to use ‘Mahirat’. Virushka’ is special in a very different way. That was actually the first thing that became popular in terms of, you know, clubbing names. After that, ‘Mahirat’ came about, like, ‘They have a bromance going on,’ you know? So they brought it from romance into bromance. And then with me and Rohit, we’ve played for so long that this now, this term came up some time ago. And it sounds nice, it sounds good, and people are having a lot of fun with it,” said Kohli to JioStar.
Kohli elaborated on how the Mahirat nickname emerged as fans and commentators began pairing his name with MS Dhoni’s. The combination of Dhoni’s nickname Mahi and Kohli’s first name created a moniker that reflected their partnership during their years playing together for India. Kohli explained that this transition from celebrity culture into cricket was a natural progression as fans sought shorthand ways to describe the relationships between players.
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The conversation then shifted to how Ro-Ko became the dominant nickname for Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s partnership. As both players have continued their careers and now feature together almost exclusively in the 50-over format, the nickname has become embedded in broadcast commentary, graphics and fan discussions. Kohli noted that the moniker serves as practical shorthand for broadcasters and commentators when discussing the two senior Indian batters.
“Also, now that we only play one format, even from, I’m sure, broadcasters’ perspective… it’s a very nice tagline to use: ‘Oh, Ro-Ko are here, they are back.’ It’s good, I mean, it’s got a ring to it, and it’s benefiting everyone, so it’s cool,” said Kohli.
Kohli reflected on how these nicknames have become woven into the fabric of modern Indian cricket discourse. The evolution from Virushka to Mahirat to Ro-Ko demonstrates how fan culture and media commentary have created a new language for discussing player partnerships. These tags have transcended their origins in celebrity culture to become standard terminology in how the sport is discussed and analysed across India.
