Aakash Chopra Sheds Light on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s ODI Future, Raises Concern Regarding Lack of Game Time

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli shouldn’t have retired from Test format. The veteran duo decided to call time on their red-ball career in May and will continue to play the ODI format.

Chopra highlighted that India is not playing a large number of ODIs in a year, and thus, the pair will lack game time. The renowned commentator feels it would have been a different story if Rohit and Virat were still playing Test cricket.

It has been reported that the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia could be the last for Rohit and Virat.

“The truth is that they have said goodbye to the wrong format. They had left T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup, but the story might have been different had they continued to play Tests and said goodbye to ODIs. India played only six ODIs in 12 months before the Champions Trophy,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“There is a possibility that you might play only six Tests in a year, but even if it’s only six Tests, it’s 30 days of cricket. If only six ODIs are played, it’s just six days of cricket over a period of time. It will be more than 100 days from your last IPL match to the next ODI you will play. You are not playing at all. You are not practicing at all,” he added.

The reputed commentator said the gaps between the two ODI series are huge, and thus it won’t be easy for Rohit and Virat to stay in the groove.

“A three-match series gets over in seven to eight days. Then the next one would be after three months. Gaps are just incredibly huge, and you won’t play first-class cricket in between. It’s true that had they continued playing Test cricket and left ODIs, staying in the groove would have been a lot easier,” he explained.

“When you have retired from Tests, and ODI cricket isn’t played much, it’s not going to make a lot of sense. So just two months of high-intensity IPL, where you would get to play 14 to 16 innings, and then you would play three matches after six months, and then three matches after another three months. I think it is very, very difficult,” Chopra observed.

While Rohit Sharma has amassed 11,168 runs in 273 ODI matches at an impressive average of 48.77, Kohli has aggregated 14,181 runs in 302 ODI games at a stunning average of 57.88; thus, their records speak for themselves.