Former India coach Ravi Shastri has stirred significant debate by casting doubt on the One-Day International (ODI) future of cricket stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, specifically concerning their participation in the 2027 ODI World Cup. He strongly suggested that their continued inclusion will depend entirely on their sustained fitness, hunger for the game, and consistent form.
Speaking at Kayo Sport’s Summer of Cricket launch in Sydney, Shastri elaborated on his views. “That’s why they’re here (playing the ODI series against Australia),” he stated. “They’re part of the mix. It depends on their fitness, their hunger, and, of course, form.”
Shastri highlighted the immediate importance of the current series against Australia, noting, “So, I think this series is very important to see how they go. They themselves will know by the end of this series how they feel, and then it’s their call.”
He drew a parallel with former Australian player Steve Smith, who retired from ODIs in March. “It’s the same thing with Steve Smith from Australia’s point of view. At that age, you’ve got to enjoy it and still have the hunger. But there’s no substitute for experience when it comes to the big games, as we saw in the Champions Trophy. Come the big games, and the big boys step up.”
It is noteworthy that both Kohli and Sharma have already retired from Tests and T20Is respectively, placing their ODI careers under even greater scrutiny.
The star batsmen are currently part of India’s 15-man ODI squad set to face Australia in a three-match series across Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney on October 19, 23, and 25. Significantly, this series will see recently appointed Test captain Shubman Gill take on the full-time leadership of the 50-over format for the very first time.
Shastri also took the opportunity to praise the burgeoning young talent within the Indian cricket system. Commenting on promising players, he told cricket.com.au, “Tilak Varma’s innings in that Asia Cup final was absolutely fantastic, because under pressure, to play like that was impressive. There are some good young guns there in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Tilak Varma.”
“A lot of good young talent and a lot of allrounders as well in Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Axar Patel, so it’s a strong white-ball unit. India is much stronger in white-ball than red-ball cricket,” he added. Shastri concluded by acknowledging the pressure on the senior players: “Rohit Sharma… Virat Kohli… they know that these youngsters are pushing them.”
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.