While the debate regarding the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in ODIs is still on, the two will take flight for Australia and hence will be involved in the three ODIs starting from October 19 at Perth. Meanwhile, the national selectors will be forced to make probably a few changes in the Indian squad because of either issues regarding fitness or a need for managing workload.
These selectors would likely meet on Saturday, which is the third day of the ongoing first Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad, for picking the squads. But it is unclear as yet when the squad would be announced. Definite absentees will be Hardik Pandya, due to a quadriceps injury, and Rishabh Pant, who is in recovery from a foot fracture. Test captain Shubman Gill, who has just played in the Asia Cup and is three days away from starting a two-Test series, will also have to look after his body.
Maybe it is asked of selectors to have him rest for either ODIs or T20Is or both. Both Rohit and Kohli have been practicing hard after they were away for seven months from international cricket after winning the Champions Trophy in March.
Kohli did get a hundred against Pakistan and top-scored in the semi-final against Australia, whereas Rohit carried on an important win against New Zealand with a final-winning knock to end his poor form.
There’s also little reason for Rohit to step down from the leadership role unless he wanted to give preference to his own batting.
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Both having retired from Tests and T20Is are now single-format players, which leads to speculations about how long these players will go into the 50-over World Cup scheduled to take place in South Africa in 2027.
That said, with as few as 6 ODIs in this season–3 away games against Australia and 3 home games against New Zealand towards the end of the year–a clear-cut decision might not be taken in a hurry, as per BCCI sources.
The priority at the moment is with the T20 World Cup early next year at home and getting maximum WTC points from the four home Tests in 2025.
More intrigue, surely, is added by the promotional video of broadcaster Jio Hotstar for the Goan ODI series where the white-ball legends’ portraits are featured.
Some permutations and combinations do come into play as eight games are scheduled to be played in just 19 days. It also includes internal flights to a number of airports (except Gold Coast to Brisbane).
The last T20I comes to an end on 09 November and the Indian Test against South Africa starts in Kolkata from 14 November.
