Two of India’s cricketing icons, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, continue to dominate headlines as speculation surrounds their future in One Day Internationals. Having retired from T20Is last year following India’s T20 World Cup triumph and stepping away from Test cricket earlier this year, questions now arise about how long they will remain active in ODIs. Despite reports suggesting both intend to play until the 2027 ODI World Cup, their official inclusion in team plans remains uncertain.
Pujara Believes Advice Isn’t Needed
Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, when asked about the duo’s future, stressed that neither Kohli nor Rohit require guidance given their vast experience.
“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎,” 𝑷𝒖𝒋𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆.
He emphasized that both players are aware of their own capabilities and will step down when the time is right.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆,” 𝑷𝒖𝒋𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
ODI Comeback on the Horizon
Kohli and Rohit last featured for India in the ODI format during the 2025 Champions Trophy. The upcoming white-ball tour of Australia is expected to mark their return to international cricket in ODIs, potentially their final series. India will kick off the series at Perth Stadium on October 19, followed by games at Adelaide Oval on October 23 and Sydney Cricket Ground on October 25.
With both veterans expected to feature prominently, fans will eagerly watch whether Kohli and Rohit continue their prolific careers or make a graceful exit from the ODI arena.
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