With only 15 months to go for the 2027 ODI World Cup, the suspense over the futures of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continues to absorb the discussion whenever India take the field in the format.
India’s recent 1-2 series defeat to England has intensified the various discussions about the senior duo and their role in the squad in the months ahead. However, both Rohit and Kohli endured mixed outings in the series as India appeared to be a settled unit in England.
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Former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta has insisted that India cannot afford Rohit and Kohli to take a couple of games to find their rhythm while returning for ODI assignments from prolonged breaks. While the 39-year-old Rohit aggregated 175 runs in three innings in England, Kohli made 144 runs from as many outings.
“That has to be a conversation with everyone, not just them (Kohli and Rohit), that they have to start the series well and hit the ground running. That is a challenge. You can’t take one or two games to get into the groove. But that’s where the support staff comes in and has conversations with the players by creating an environment to get the best out of everyone.”
“There is no conversation needed with them about their places in the team. Four years back, it wasn’t like they had to be reminded before every series that they would be in the team. They knew they would be in the team on the back of their performances. So how does that change now? It does not and should not change,” said Dasgupta on his YouTube channel.
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Dasgupta, however, stressed that the discussion over Rohit and Kohli’s futures are heightened because of their single-format roles in the national side.
“This discussion about their future is getting exaggerated because they play only one format. When you play multiple formats, if you fail in one but score in the other, the failure is forgotten. So that’s a challenge for these two that can’t be denied. People will remember what they last did in this format because they play only one format. But the conversation with them should be the same as it was three years ago.”
India’s next ODI assignment will not be until two months from now in late September against West Indies at home.
