Former Indian World Cup-winning batter Kris Srikkanth believes Virat Kohli could play 2027 World Cup but Rohit Sharma will faint. The pair has performed consistently in the 50-overs format but Rohit Sharma will be 40 and Virat Kohli will be 38 when the next ODI showpiece will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma scored 257 runs in eight matches of the T20 World Cup 2024 at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.71, Kohli scored a vital knock of 76 runs off 59 balls in the all-important final against the Proteas after a disappointing run throughout the tournament. Thus, the duo once again played an instrumental role in taking India to glory.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli is still fit as a fiddle but Rohit Sharma doesn’t have the same fitness level.
Recently, head coach Gautam Gambhir said Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have the right to decide on their ODI future.
“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,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
The former Indian opener reckons Rohit Sharma might not be able to stretch his career due to fitness concerns.
“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.
On the other hand, Gautam Gambhir is hopeful that the veteran duo can keep up their fitness till the next ODI World Cup.
“I think both those guys have got a lot of cricket left in them and more importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia, obviously they would be motivated enough and then hopefully they can keep their fitness till the 2027 World Cup as well. This is a very personal decision,” Gambhir said.
India will take on Sri Lanka in the first T20I at Pallekele on Saturday.
