Legendary South African quick Jonty Rhodes believes that India’s seasoned batting tandem of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should continue to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
He went on to say that the two had ‘abundance’ of expertise and mental toughness to be crucial to the huge event.
Before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 match against England, batting duo Rohit and Virat declared their retirement from Test cricket earlier this year. They now solely represent the nation in ODI cricket. Rohit was also removed from his ODI leadership before the series against Australia, and Shubman Gill took over.
There are conjectures regarding the pair’s future in cricket amid all these happenings. Rhodes, however, thinks the two should keep playing and scoring runs for the nation, adding that India will benefit from their presence in the ODI World Cup.
“And I get asked, it happened with Tendulkar, it happened with Dhoni. It’s like the next bunch of guys, when should they retire? When should they play? It’s up to them. I mean, they keep producing the runs. Then you’ve got to select them. They’ve got so much experience,” Rhodes told IANS.
“And we know tournaments like a World Cup. It’s not just about the talent that you have, but it’s also about, you know, the sort of mental strength of players. So Kohli and Rohit certainly have that in abundance,” he added.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma last wore the India shirt during the three-match ODI series against Australia, where Rohit finished as the highest run scorer after smashing a century in the third match. In contrast, Kohli was dismissed on ducks in the first two meetings, but he bounced back to score an undefeated 74 in the series finale.
The three-match ODI series against South Africa, which will begin on November 30 with the first match in Ranchi, is when the two will next be seen playing.