As many as four world-class match-winners are expected to bid adieu to the game one by one in the next couple of years and Gautam Gambhir is in an unenviable position as head coach.
With Kohli and Rohit misfiring, the pressure has mounted on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and India's middle order to put the kind of scores on the board their bowlers can defend.
A fit-again Ravindra Jadeja made a strong comeback with a seven-wicket haul in the second innings against Tamil Nadu as he bowled 41.1 overs in the Ranji Trophy match.
Langer remains hopeful for Kohli's comeback, saying, "I just hope, if this is the last time (Kohli) is out here, people enjoy it because he is a superstar."
Jasprit Bumrah emerged as the lone bright spot with a record haul of 32 wickets.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday.
The former South African quick explained the pre-set plan against Head, though it eventually fell flat on its back.
'He knows that Gabba will be a different wicket where he will get to face a lot of bounce and pace and that back foot game needs to be included in his game.'
India will be under tremendous pressure when they face an equally circumspect Australia in a battle of two out-of-form batting units in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth
Any of these match ups could influence the outcome of the Perth Test.
India were still staring at a daunting challenge despite a much more assured performance in their second innings, trailing by 125 runs at the close with Sarfaraz Khan on 70 not out after Virat Kohli fell for the same score on the day's final ball.
The biggest positives with the bat in Perth were Virat Kohli regaining his rhythm and Jaiswal's coming of age hundred in his debut Test in Australia. Both will look to build on those significant gains in Adelaide.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Chennai Super Kings Captain Ravindra Jadeja felt his bowlers were hampered by the dew during their six-wicket defeat against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Shubman Gill has made far too many changes in his batting approach, which is hindering his run-scoring ability on away tours, feels former Australian captain Ricky Pointing
Rishabh Pant once again fell victim to the 'nervous nineties,' being dismissed for 99 in India's first innings against New Zealand on Saturday.
India dominates ICC Test Rankings
Virat Kohli's conduct came under the microscope in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Thursday after a clash of shoulders with teen debutant Sam Konstas, but the incident did little to knock the Australian wonder boy off his stride.
Ravichandran, father of veteran off-spinner Ashwin, said he was caught off guard by his son's sudden retirement from international cricket, but stunningly hinted that there could be underlying reasons for it, including him feeling "humiliated".
India managed to keep the five-Test series level at 1-1 heading into the Boxing day Test in Melbourne, the fragility of their top order remains a major concern for the tourists.
Lavishing praise on young Sam Konstas, former opener David Warner has urged Australia's senior players to adopt a similar aggressive approach when facing Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah
Ashwin's decision too came as a bit of a surprise, especially considering the team's reliance on him.
'The IPL provides a different ladder in terms of recognition.' 'If you do well, you will obviously get noticed and it enhances your selection into white-ball formats.'
Images from Day 2 of the fifth Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
India will have to wait until day two to show their skills and may need early wickets to force a third consecutive result in the series.
After shouldering the bowling attack and now stepping up to bat, he's proven himself to be an all-round hero.
Wives and kids of CSK players took to the pitch for the after-game party, joining in the cheers and taking in the love of the fans who lit up the stadium in Ahmedabad.
India spared Bangladesh the ignominy of a follow-on but grabbed an overall lead of 308 with seven wickets in hands to seize control of the opening Test in Chennai on Friday.
Will Rohit Sharma get one final opportunity to salvage his Test career?
Former batter Manoj Tiwary said India head coach Gautam Gambhir is 'not the right choice' for the role and is better suited to mentoring IPL franchises.
Rohit Sharma will either open or bat at number three in the Adelaide Test against Australia, reckoned former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh
It couldn't be immediately confirmed if it's a case of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), recovery from which can take a good six months.
'Going into Brisbane, India need a tight strategy for Travis Head and they need to get Akash Deep in and maybe Ravindra Jadeja for Ashwin.'
Just-retired R Ashwin's father Ravichandran kicked up a controversy on Thursday by claiming that "humiliation" could have been a reason for his son's decision to call it quits but the veteran off-spinner made light of the "dad comment", blaming it on lack of media training.
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