Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli embrace 'Ro-Ko' in JioStar TV ad ahead of India-Sri Lanka ODIs

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli appear together in a JioStar television advertisement released on October 7, 2026, ahead of India's ODI series against Sri Lanka, in which the two former captains playfully adopt the 'Ro-Ko' nickname. The short film features the pair joking with each other and referencing teammates through familiar celebrations.

The two have shared nearly two decades playing together for India and feature in the campaign as ODIs remain their only international format after retiring from T20Is following the 2024 T20 World Cup and from Test cricket in 2025. Kohli previously commented on the nickname, saying, "Ro-Ko has a nice ring to it," and added that people were having "a lot of fun with it." He also observed that the tag works well now that they play only one format: "Now that we only play one format, even from the broadcaster's perspective, I'm sure it's a very nice tagline to use - 'Oh, Ro-Ko aa gaye! They are back'."

In the advertisement, Rohit opens the exchange by asking Kohli how long it has been, to which Kohli replies, "But it's still as much fun." Kohli adds, "Our boys are also very excited." The spot plays on Rohit's conversational habit of using "woh" when he cannot recall a name, with Kohli following the cue.

The duo mimic teammates' signature celebrations: Rohit reproduces KL Rahul's 'Kantara' celebration and Kohli immediately understands the reference. When identifying Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli uses sign language to indicate the all-rounder's sword celebration. They perform Shubman Gill's hat-doffing celebration and announce that Gill "is excited," before saying, "It's a big year, the country is counting on us."

A promotional tweet from Star Sports published on October 7, 2026, accompanied the campaign: “ , !” #RohitSharma & #ViratKohli know what lies ahead in this all-important year, but as they put it, ! #INDvSL | 1st ODI 13th DEC, TUE, 1 PM onwards on Star Sports & JioHotstar #TeamIndia #IndianCricket #IndiavSriLanka— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 7, 2026

The advertisement arrives after a recent three-match ODI series against the West Indies in which Kohli began with an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls in Thiruvananthapuram, marking his 55th ODI century and becoming only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 runs in the format. He scored 29 in the second ODI in Guwahati and seven in the third in New Chandigarh. Rohit made 32 in the opener, 101 off 75 in Guwahati and 92 off 85 in the third match; his century occurred in India's record chase of 406 when he and Shubman Gill shared a 255-run opening stand. India won the series 2-1, taking the first two ODIs by eight wickets before West Indies chased down 352 to win the third by five wickets.

Before returning to international action, the pair have an ODI assignment against New Zealand followed by the Sri Lanka series in December.