Former Indian legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar has warned the Indian fans to be prepared for more bad news coming their way, as he feels the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli may not play the 2027 World Cup. Both Rohit and Kohli have retired from T20Is and Tests and will now feature after a long time in the three-match ODI series against Australia.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar claimed that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are non-committal about their participation in the 2027 World Cup. Sunil Gavaskar feels it is fair to judge the two stalwarts on their form in the lead-up to the tournament, and with the Indian team playing very little ODI cricket, Gavaskar feels it will be tough for Rohit or Virat to retain good form.
Here`s what Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak about the same:
“We don`t know whether Rohit Sharma will be ready for the 2027 World Cup. He only plays ODIs now, and if we see the international calendar, the Indian team isn`t playing too many ODIs. Bilateral tours mostly include Tests and T20Is. If he only plays 5-7 ODIs in a year, he won`t get that kind of practice, which you need for a big tournament like a World Cup. If his place in the team isn`t certain, the decision to prepare Shubman Gill was taken.”
He further added:
“Of course. If you are non-committal, if you can`t say whether you’ll be ready for the next two years, be ready [for more bad news]. Even they are aware that if they only have to play ODI, there are rarely any. For that, they need to practice more and play something like the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This is possibly why they have taken that stance.”
Sunil Gavaskar hailed Rohit Sharma for his achievements as a captain for India, but also understands the need to look forward to the future with the next ODI World Cup a couple of years away. On this, he opined:
“Personally, he (Rohit) has done a lot – won us the Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup before that. There`s no two ways about his captaincy. But even he (Rohit Sharma) agrees with this decision because if you need to think two years ahead, then a young captain needs to be prepared. And this is the thought process the selection committee went ahead with.”