Not Rohit, Kohli's Retirement! BCCI Focusing On Big Assignment Involving Suryakumar Yadav
With T20 World Cup next priority, the BCCI not in hurry to take call on the futures of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The ODI futures of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have become a massive talking point ever since a media report suggested that India's upcoming white-ball tour of Australia could be their last in the blue jersey. Having already stepped away from T20Is and Tests, both stalwarts had kept themselves available for ODIs, with an eye on the 2027 ICC World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe. However, given their age, that now appears unlikely — Kohli will be 39 by then, while Rohit will have turned 40.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn't seem to be in a hurry to take an immediate call on the two maestros.
According to PTI, the BCCI never believes in making decisions in haste and would always gauge the mood and public perceptions before taking a call, which is sensitive considering the massive fan following of the two players.
'Obviously, if they (Rohit and Kohli) have something in mind, they would tell the BCCI brass like they did before the England Test tour," PTI quoted a source as saying.
'But from an Indian team's perspective, the next big assignment is the T20 World Cup in February and preparations before that. The immediate focus will be on sending the best team for the Asia Cup T20 tournament, hoping all players are fit and available," the source added.
With the Bangladesh series in August called off, India's next ODI assignment will be the away series against Australia from October 19 to 25. Some media reports claim the BCCI might offer Kohli and Rohit a farewell game in Sydney on October 25, but a BCCI source has denied any such talks so far.
'Even if they play Vijay Hazare, before that, there would already be six ODIs that will be played. In between the Australia ODIs and the South Africa ODIs, there is an India A series against South Africa, where three List A games (50 overs) will be held at Rajkot on November 13, 16 and 19 respectively.
'Now, will the duo want to play those three A games, or possibly two, before the South Africa series is the question. Even more important is whether Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues would want that," he said.
'Overlapping the Vijay Hazare Trophy (December 24, 2025 – January 18, 2025) will be the three ODIs between India and New Zealand (January 11, 14, 18). So even if they play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, it can't be for more than two to three games," the source added.
The last tournament that they played was the Champions Trophy in Dubai, where Kohli scored a hundred in a successful chase against Pakistan at the group league stage, while Rohit starred with a sublime half-century in the chase during the final. However, neither has played competitive cricket since the conclusion of the Indian Premier League.
(With PTI Inputs)
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