India’s team selection for the imminent ODI series with Australia has been perhaps the biggest surprise across the board, the biggest being the change in the captaincy. Shubman Gill replaces Rohit Sharma and is named the new ODI captain, with Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain. However, Rohit and Virat Kohli have been named in the teams and will make their comeback to international cricket after a long gap since IPL 2025.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan also believes that if Rohit and Kohli want to be part of the 2027 ODI World Cup, then they must actively play domestic cricket to maintain their fitness and keep themselves in touch. As we know, Rohit led India to the Champions Trophy win earlier this year. Further, both Rohit and Kohli have formally retired from Test and T20Is but have not yet resigned from ODIs.
“Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) want to play the 2027 World Cup, but game fitness will be a big challenge for them.”
“Rohit has worked well on his fitness. He is focused on that. But there is regular fitness, and game time fitness… If you are not playing regular cricket, both of them have to ensure some game time. They have to play domestic cricket.
“They are big players, and they know what they need to do. They have got all the experience in the world. However, since they are not playing any T20Is, there will be enormous gaps between the small few matches that they play before the big World Cup. They will need regular game time, because without it, they won’t be fit to play, and so, in a way, their dream to play the 2027 World Cup will remain just that-a dream.”
With this, the team comprises a few other changes. Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy find their names out, while Jasprit Bumrah gets a rest. Being sidelined is Hardik Pandya with a quadriceps injury, while Rishabh Pant is still on recovery from a fractured foot.
