Former Indian fast bowler Ashish Nehra has backed the veteran duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to continue playing till 2027. After Kohli and Rohit decided to hang their boots from T20Is, there have been doubts over their ODI future.

With the next ODI World Cup to be played in 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, it will be interesting to note if the duo keeps playing in the 50-overs format. Nehra feels both the players will need to raise their bars and they have done so on multiple occasions.

“It involves both physical and mental aspects. It depends on your passion and motivation and in these aspects, there is no dearth at all when it comes to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It’s because of their drive that they have reached where they are today. From here, young guns like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan will keep making runs and push you. For that, you need to keep raising your bar. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have done that and shown,” Nehra told India Today’s sister channel Sports Tak.

Nehra said 2027 is still far away and the team should take one series at a time to prepare for the future.

“2027 is far away at this point. But it’s great thinking. If you ask me ‘I want to be 18 all my life. I didn’t want to retire. If you give Gambhir a choice and tell him his body is fit, he will say ‘No Sai Sudharsan, I am ready’. 4 years is far away, but it’s a great thought. But, if that can be done, nothing like it,” he added.

Rohit and Virat will be seen in action in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.