Former India coach Ravi Shastri has reached a defining verdict regarding Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's futures, explaining that by the end of the upcoming ODI series against Australia, the duo will know what to do next. Kohli and Rohit's future has been a hot topic of discussion ever since they announced their retirement from Test cricket in May. Rohit and Kohli have yet to play any form of professional cricket since June, and while a lot has been said about their chances of being part of India's 2027 World Cup squad, BCCI chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar's comments regarding the same raised a few eyebrows when he said both remain non-committal and that a final decision will be taken in due time.
Shastri's statement is along similar lines. Rohit will be 40 and a half by the time the African safari comes knocking, whereas Kohli would turn 39 during the tournament. However, more importantly, it's the lack of match practice that promises to be Ro-Ko's biggest hurdle. When Steve Smith announced his retirement from ODIs after Australia's defeat to India in the Champions Trophy semi-final, the decision came as a surprise to many. But Shastri understands where it came from and insists that the same conditions apply to Kohli and Rohit.
"That's why they're here, playing the ODI series against Australia. They're part of the mix. It depends on their fitness, their hunger and, of course, form. 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. (It's) the same thing with Steve Smith (who retired from ODIs in March) from Australia's point of view. At that age, you've got to enjoy it and (you've) still got to 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," Shastri said during the Kayo Sports' Summer of Cricket launch on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}"That's why they're here, playing the ODI series against Australia. They're part of the mix. It depends on their fitness, their hunger and, of course, form. 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. (It's) the same thing with Steve Smith (who retired from ODIs in March) from Australia's point of view. At that age, you've got to enjoy it and (you've) still got to 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," Shastri said during the Kayo Sports' Summer of Cricket launch on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}Youngsters not making life easy for Ro-Ko
With India in the middle of a transitional phase, with more youngsters stepping up and producing results – they drew the Test series 2-2 in England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and won the Asia Cup 2025 – Shastri says the form of youngsters such as Tilak Varma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma will only motivate Kohli and Rohit further. Varma scored a fine half-century in the final against Pakistan, and Abhishek was the leading run-scorer of the tournament. With these youngsters knocking on the ODI doors, Kohli and Rohit will have to perform or perish.
"(Varma's) innings in that Asia Cup final was absolutely fantastic. Because under pressure to play like that (was impressive). There's some good young guns there in (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, there's (Shubman) Gill, there's Tilak Varma. A lot of good young talent and 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. Rohit Sharma … Virat Kohli … they know that these youngsters are pushing them," Shastri told cricket.com.au on Monday.