Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan feel that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who only play the ODI format, must play domestic cricket to keep themselves match fit and ready for the World Cup in 2027.
“They will have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy in India whenever it’s scheduled, if it doesn’t clash with any international ODI tournaments. That’s one way to stay in trim and maintain match practice,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.
The former India captain feels that age could play a factor for them to remain in contention for selection unless they participate in domestic cricket. Sharma will be 40 years old, while Kohli will be 37 during the tournament that will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
“It depends to a great extent on the number of one-day matches that India plays over the next couple of years,” said Gavaskar. Look, it’s not easy to be playing just seven or eight ODIs in a season while preparing for something as big as a World Cup. For those eight white-ball matches, there are probably five T20s and three ODIs. That is not giving much in terms of exposure or practice for players who are approaching the latter stages of their careers,” Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar also took a dig at the duo saying. “I’m pretty certain that if this were a trip to Zimbabwe or the West Indies, both of them would not have been available but because this is in Australia, and because India lost to Australia in the World Cup final, maybe that is the reason why both of them have decided, yes, I want to be available for this,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pathan also shared similar sentiments, urging the two to play domestic cricket to maintain match fitness and game time.
“Rohit and Virat 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,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Both Kohli and Rohit have stepped away from T20Is in 2024 and Test cricket in May 2025. Currently, they only participate in ODIs, which have seen a reduction in frequency due to commercial factors, along with the IPL.
“They are big players and know what to do. They have all the experience in the world. But they are not even playing T20Is, so there will be big gaps between the few matches that they play before the big World Cup. They will need regular game time to be fit for that. Only then will their dream to play the 2027 World Cup come true.”
The upcoming Australia tour will see Shubman Gill at the helm of the ODI team for the first time. India’s domestic season will commence in winter, featuring the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the country’s premier List-A tournament. Neither Kohli nor Rohit has participated in this domestic competition for several years.
“There is a leadership change; Gill will lead in both formats now. This is a big opportunity but a huge responsibility too. He has to take forward Virat’s legacy in Test cricket and Rohit’s legacy in white-ball cricket. This is a challenging but exciting phase for him as he is already batting well, he will need to keep that form going,” Pathan said.
Gill’s promotion comes at a significant time as he takes over the leadership role from one of India’s most successful white-ball captains.
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