Aakash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer, has lauded the outstanding performances of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in recent One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He described Kohli as being in the finest ODI form of his career and expressed his hopes for Rohit to hit a century in the upcoming third ODI. With the next ODI series still six months away, Chopra emphasized that Rohit has nothing left to prove.
“Rohit Sharma is undoubtedly in good form. He played exceptionally in Adelaide, scored a century in Sydney, and registered fifties during the South Africa series. In the current series, he has also looked solid during his innings. Given the six-month gap until the next ODI after the New Zealand series, it doesn’t make sense to evaluate him right now. Let’s hope to witness Rohit achieve a century in Indore during the final match of this series,” Chopra shared with ANI.
He added, “Had the World Cup been tomorrow, you wouldn’t be asking me this. Discussions about his role in the 2027 ODI World Cup can wait until then. However, with the way he’s playing now, I believe we have never seen him perform this well in ODIs.”
In a related note, Team India has received some setbacks as Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar have sustained injuries, making them unavailable for the T20I series against New Zealand, which is set to precede the T20 World Cup 2026. Chopra expressed his hope that these injuries won’t hinder the team’s preparation for the marquee event.
“It is indeed a bit concerning, but today is January 15, and our first T20 World Cup match is on February 7. Let’s hope the injuries don’t pose a problem and that the team is fully prepared by the time the World Cup arrives,” remarked the 48-year-old.
Team India will kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 journey against the USA on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
(With ANI Inputs)