Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are arguably the best batters of the generation and hence there was a lot of debate around the time they announced their Test retirements just ahead of the England tour. While their retirements happened under suspicious circumstances – it was understood that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are eyeing the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – the two Indian stalwarts – have already bid adieu to Tests and T20Is with the hope that they can prolong their ODI careers. At this stage of their careers – Virat Kohli is 36 and Rohit, 38 – the 50-overs format is the best suited for them.
There have a lot of speculations regarding Rohit and Virat’s future with the Indian team and it is safe to say that there is no guarantee as to if they will be a part of the Men in Blue’s for the World Cup that will be contested two years later. Notably, Rohit Sharma will be 40 while Virat Kohli will be 39 by the time the competition begins. If the two want to feature in the tournament then they will have to regularly take part in the one-day matches that the national team will play.
Having endured the heartbreak of the 2023 ODI World Cup up close and personal, Virat Kohli and Rohit, who are yet to win the 50-overs World Cup together, are eager to chase the ultimate glory in the 2027 World Cup, which can cap off a perfect, story-book ending for the two superstar batters.
Until a couple of days ago, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looked certain to maintain their place in the ODI setup. However, according to a report in Dainik Jagran, the murmurs about their future have already gained steam. It stated that the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia in October might be Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s swansongs in Indian cricket as both have been selected in the 3 -Match ODI Series for the same.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s stellar career in white ball cricket
In 273 ODIs, Rohit has scored 11,168 runs at an average of 48.76, including 32 centuries and 58 fifties. He also holds the unique record of scoring three double centuries in the format. Earlier this month, Rohit was present at The Oval to witness the fifth and final Test against England, which India won by six runs to level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2.
Rohit amassed 4,301 runs from 67 Tests at an average of 40.57, including hitting 12 centuries and 18 fifties. Rohit also led India in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing nine games.
Rohit averaged a wonderful 42.81 in 66 innings as an opener in Tests, including hitting nine centuries and eight fifties. He also oversaw India becoming runners-up in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final after losing to Australia at The Oval. On the other hand Virat Kohli the GOAT in ODI Cricket has amassed 14181 runs at an average of 57.88 with 51 ODI centuries in 302 matches.
BCCI demand’s Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play Vijay Hazare Trophy to prove their relevance in white ball format
Virat Kohli last played a Vijay Hazare Trophy match for Delhi in February 2010 against Services. In that match against Gurgaon, he scored 16 runs while batting at number 5. Rohit Sharma’s last VHT game was much more recent than Virat Kohli’s – in 2018, when he scored 24 in the semi-final against Hyderabad for Mumbai.
The BCCI’s VHT demand could stem from its reprioritisation of domestic cricket. Earlier this year, after India’s 1-3 defeat against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the BCCI made it mandatory for all centrally-contracted players to be available for their states for domestic cricket in order to be available for national selection.
The Jagran report stated that the BCCI is focused on grooming young talent for the upcoming marquee 50-over tournament, with preparations already in full swing. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli indeed turn up, it’ll be nothing new. In January 2025, both players represented their state teams in the Ranji Trophy, following a BCCI mandate. The 10-point directive urged all players to return to domestic red-ball cricket to regain form.
Now, the BCCI is reportedly considering asking Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. But is this expectation realistic? What value would their participation in the 50-over competition bring, and how much game time could they gain?. Ahead of this murmurs,  Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan reflected on the debate, saying that the biggest challenge would be to get regular playing time and hence Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should consider playing domestic cricket ahead of 2027 ODI World Cup.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have to play domestic cricket- Irfan Pathan
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan advised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play domestic cricket ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. The star batters will be seen in action during the upcoming ODI series against Australia Down Under.
They were both named in India’s ODI squad for the Australia tour, which was announced on Saturday, October 04. Irfan reckoned that having enough game time would be the only challenge for the two if they want to play the World Cup in 2027.
Notably, Virat and Rohit both retired from T20Is and Tests. They will only be seen playing ODIs for India. Therefore, the amount of international cricket they would play before the 2027 World Cup would be limited.
“There will only be one challenge for Rohit and Virat for the 2027 World Cup. Rohit has worked well on his fitness. He is very focused on that. But if you are not playing regular cricket, both of them have to ensure game time. They have to play domestic cricket. They are big players and know what to do. But there will be big gaps as they will only play ODIs.
They will have to ensure their game time fitness in these gaps. If they overcome these challenges, which they can as well, their dream of playing the 2027 World Cup can come true,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Irfan also highlighted that Shubman Gill would face a challenging time ahead. Gill replaced Rohit as India’s ODI captain. Earlier, he had replaced Rohit as the Test captain as well.
“Gill will lead in two formats now. This is a big opportunity. He has to take forward Virat’s legacy in Test cricket and Rohit’s legacy in ODIs. This is a challenging yet exciting phase for him as he is batting well anyway,” he added
Shubman Gill has won three, lost two, and drawn one out of his six Tests as India captain so far. He will be leading for the first time in ODIs during the Australia tour. Team India’s white-ball tour of Australia will begin with the three ODIs on October 19. They will play five T20Is following the ODI series.
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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