Rohit Sharma led India to the Champions Trophy title earlier this year. He was the Player of the Match in the final. On the other hand, Virat Kohli finished as the second-highest run-getter for India in the tournament. However, during the Indian Premier League (IPL), they retired from Test cricket. Having already stepped away from T20Is in 2024, the star duo is only going to play 50-over cricket for India going forward.
However, speculations are rife about Rohit and Kohli’s spots in the ODI setup being uncertain. They are expected to play the three-match series against Australia in October. Some reports suggest that their future in the Indian team could depend on how they perform in the series.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed his concerns about the lack of ODIs the Men in Blue will play in the lead-up to the 50-over World Cup in 2027. He feels that Kohli and Rohit’s biggest challenge will be getting enough game time ahead of the marquee event. Pathan also mentioned that both are working hard on their fitness, with the focus being on doing well for India in the series Down Under.
“For Kohli and Rohit, the only challenge would be to play regular cricket. Otherwise, they are all outstanding. Talking about these professional cricketers, whose only focus is to play cricket for now, the biggest challenge for them would be playing regularly and staying fit. Virat is going to play IPL only, and then whenever there is First-Class cricket, but just to play and not to prove anything. So, continuing the game time will not be an easy task,” Pathan told RevSportz.
T20 has taken over and one-dayers have taken a backseat, so number of matches has gotten changed in both. World Cup 2027 won’t be a challenge if continuity of the game time is handled. Unfortunately, there will be pressure on them. Whereas Rohit Sharma, I’ve spoken to him and he’s very keen about fitness. Then Virat, I am sure is very keen as well with the way he has been seen practising in England. The keenness is important from the player’s point of view, so this is a great thing about them – that they are in touch and working on their fitness as well,” he added.
I hope that the communication has been very clear: Pathan
Pathan hoped that head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had clearly communicated their plans regarding Kohli and Rohit’s future in the ODI team, especially with the World Cup in mind. While Rohit would be 40 at the time of the global event, Kohli would be 39.
“I really think that should be the case, and I hope that the communication has been very clear,” Pathan said on whether he sees Kohli and Rohit playing beyond the Australia ODIs.
“Knowing Gautam (Gambhir) and Ajit (Agarkar), I think they have made it very clear in terms of communication. And as I said, having game time regularly will keep away all sorts of challenges. If you’re talking about 2027, that challenge will be there because they’re not playing for India currently. After, say, three games against Australia and IPL, if there is a big gap, then the continuity breaks,” he added.
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