Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma "Were Not Asked To Retire": Ravi Shastri Drops Fresh Details

All eyes will be on veteran India players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the side's upcoming three-match ODIs against Australia, starting October 19. The Shubman Gill-led side will be travelling Down Under to play the games, which will also see Kohli and Rohit donning the national jersey after a gap of seven months. The two called time on their T20I careers after India clinched the World Cup in the format in June last year. Around 11 months later, the duo also quit Test cricket. As a result, ODI is the only format in which Virat and Rohit are active as India players.

Around two years are still remaining for the next Cricket World Cup, and former India captain and ex-coach Ravi Shastri has advised the duo of Rohit and Virat to take one series at a time.

"(Virat Kohli's) a master chaser, and Rohit is explosive at the top. They feel they've got enough cricket in them. It depends how hungry you are, how fit you are, whether that passion for the game is still there. With their experience, it'll come in very handy," Shastri told Fox Cricket.

"I would say take it one series at a time. It's still a long way to go. "Hopefully, if they have a good one here, that should keep them in a good state of mind, thinking of South Africa," he added.

Shastri also said that Virat and Rohit might decide to put curtains on their ODI careers if they don't enjoy playing.

"You could see how they left the T20 format when India won the T20 World Cup. Three of them went, (Ravindra) Jadeja, Kohli and Rohit," he said.

"Virat retired from Test cricket, as did Rohit. They were not asked to retire. They went on their own. I would think it's similar (for ODIs). If they're not enjoying it, if the form is not good, they might pull the plug themselves," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Ravi Shastri