Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes it is not easy to predict Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s future in ODIs ahead of the three-match series against New Zealand. Chopra said the ODI World Cup is still 18 months away and he would want to see the veteran duo play in the ODI showpiece in South Africa and Namibia.
However, the renowned commentator said the final call will depend on Rohit and Virat. Chopra highlighted that the batting pair would have laughed if they were told that they would play Test cricket for only two years after playing the WTC 2023 final at the Oval against Australia.
Both batters called time on their Test careers in May 2025 and now only ply their trade in ODIs.
“My only point is that if we asked Rohit when we played the WTC final in Oval in 2023, will you retire before the 2025 WTC final, he would have laughed at your face. Virat would do the same thing. But these two guys walked away two years after playing a WTC final. So if they could not say what will happen after two years, we are equipped to tell what will happen in 2027. 2026 has just begun. The World Cup is in the second half of 2027. So we don’t know what can happen. My wish list is to have quality and experience in batting in South Africa. If they are there, it is the best-case scenario. But only they can decide,” Aakash Chopra said on ‘Backstage with Boria’.
Meanwhile, in 2025, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Rohit and Virat are non-committal for the ODI World Cup 2027 and the former pacer was criticised for his statement. Chopra said the selectors want to give youngsters a chance in case Rohit and Virat decide not to play in the ODI showpiece.
“When you see the selectors saying they want to try someone else and all the chatter, the chatter was only about that if these two decide to go away, we need to have at least someone else. You are just future-proofing yourself. If they continue to perform and they want to play, this is the best-case scenario for Indian cricket,” he said.
India will take on New Zealand in a three-match ODI series, starting Sunday.
