Gautam Gambhir's appointment as head coach of the Indian team has raised doubts over the future of veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Both Rohit and Virat announced their T20I retirements after the T20 World Cup final last month. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah assured that Rohit will lead the team during the ICC Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2025, it is not clear whether he and Virat will be available for the next ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in 2027.
During a press conference, Gambhir also re-iterated that both Rohit and Kohli are in his plans, saying that the duo has plenty of cricket left in them.
Former India Krishnamachari Srikkanth has pointed out how Gambhir had earlier hinted that senior players will have no place in his team if they fail to perform in the T20 World Cup.
"Gautam Gambhir has taken a U-turn. 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.
On the duo's participation at the ODI World Cup, Srikkanth suggested that while there is a possibility that Kohli will feature in the tournament, considering his high fitness standards, he feels that it would be difficult for Rohit to play beyond the age of 40.
"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.
The 2027 ODI World Cup will be held in Africa as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will jointly host the tournament.