Within minutes of India lifting the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli stated his intention to quit T20Is. An hour or so later, his skipper Rohit Sharma followed suit. The picture of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in tears was the perfect representation of how the Indian cricket team and their fans felt after the loss against Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. While both players won World Cups as youngsters in the national set-up, the loss robbed them to the perfect chance to bookend their illustrious careers.
However, there was no such case on Saturday as India defeated South Africa in a thriller to clinch the T20 World Cup 2024 title and the excitement was visible on the experienced duo’s faces. Rohit broke down in tears on the ground while Virat’s fist bumps and aggressive celebration once again provided a sneak peek at his competitive attitude. However, what made the victory bittersweet was the dual announcement that shook Indian cricket.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s journey in International cricket
Kohli won the 2011 World Cup as a 22-year-old, while Rohit Sharma in 2007. Both won the first World Cup they played for India. But over the years, as their stature as batters grew, India’s wait to win an ICC title prolonged. Rohit Sharma and Kohli won the 2013 Champions Trophy together, before both were subjected to a string of knockout defeats.
India lost in the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20 before being outplayed by Pakistan in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy in England. Two years later, India were haunted by another semifinal exit despite being the top-ranked team of the group stage.
The 2021 T20 World Cup ended up being a disaster as India endured a first-round exit and although the Men in Blue put up a much braver show the following year in Australia, they were handed a 10-wicket drubbing by England in another semi-final loss. The much-awaited home World Cup arrived in 2023, and as India ran roughshod over their opponents, winning 10 in a row, it was almost given, only a matter of time before Rohit Sharma’s team was immortalized. But it wasn’t to be and they ended runner-up against all odds.
Finally, the hoodoo ended and the deadlock broken last month when Rohit Sharma completed his redemption story and won India its fourth World Cup trophy. He has time and again insisted that the ODI World Cup is the true World Cup for him. So while he may still be 40 by the time, the belief is that Rohit would want to walk into the sunset as a three-time World Cup winner.
Gautam Gambhir believes that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play 2027 ODI World Cup.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma fans, rejoice. Your beloved stalwarts are pretty much in the reckoning for a place in India’s 2027 World Cup squad. When India’s 2023 World Cup campaign last year ended in a heartbreak with a loss to Australia in the final, it was believed that Rohit and Kohli’s ODI careers will end without winning the 50-overs World Cup together.
And although they did have their brotherly moment under the sun when India lifted the T20 World Cup in the West Indies, the fact that new head coach Gautam Gambhir has kept the doors open for them to have one more shot at World Cup glory, sets the stage for the stage for an ideal swansong for India’s superstar batting duo.
But there’s a catch. By the time the 2027 World Cup arrives, Rohit Sharma would be 40, and Kohli 39. Gambhir himself has stressed that for Ro-Ko to feature in the World Cup scheme of things, they would need to be fit. And when it comes to fitness, there is no better than Kohli. Now that he has retired from T20Is, Kohli has the chance to manage his workload better if he plans on continuing for three more years. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, may not be as athletic as Kohli, but the India captain is pretty fit himself.
However, a statement by former India opener Kris Srikanth reflects Rohit Sharma in bad light. The former BCCI chairman of selectors reckons that while Kohli is pretty much a certainty for next ODI World Cup, Rohit Sharma will struggle to make it owing to his fitness.
Ex-BCCI chairman of selectors Kris Srikanth rules out India captain Rohit Sharma’s chances of playing World Cup 2027
Former India cricketer K Srikanth has claimed that it will be downright impossible for Rohit Sharma to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa due to fitness and age. The Indian skipper has not won the elusive 50-over ICC title after having come so close in the 2023 edition.
Rohit Sharma recently stated during an event in Dallas that he would continue playing for India, at least for a little while before retiring. Considering that he has already stepped away from T20Is after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, he has not ruled out partaking in the 2027 ODI World Cup to add a crown jewel to his trophy cabinet.
In his first-ever press conference as India head coach, Gautam Gambhir also welcomed the prospect of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continuing until the 2027 ODI World Cup. The newly appointed head coach’s contract also runs up to the end of 2027, meaning that the three figures could potentially unite in securing India’s first ODI title since 2011.
Srikanth, however, branded Gambhir as a hypocrite, and stated that the claims of Rohit Sharma making it until the 2027 ODI World Cup is far-fetched.
“Gautam Gambhir is most hip-hopper. He is a real U-turn man. Before the T20 World Cup 2024, he was saying if Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma do not perform, they will not sit in my team. Then he took a U-turn now, saying there is no player like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. After becoming head coach, he said that both have a lot of cricket left and hopefully they will fit for the 2027 World Cup,” Srikanth said on his YouTube channel (via CricketAddictor).
He emphasized Rohit Sharma’s lack of fitness, and opined that he could not stretch his career as long as MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar did in the past.
“He is a good player, but his age is 37 presently, and the next ODI World Cup is three more years ahead. He will be 40 years old then. I mean, unless you are a super-fit person like MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar, you can’t play World Cup at 40s. Yeah, Virat Kohli could play in the 2027 World Cup, in my opinion, for sure. But for Rohit, Mr. Gambhir, you went overboard; he will faint in South Africa,” he added (via Hindustan Times).
As of now, both players are well in the scheme of things for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They were named in the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.