'After Champions Trophy...' - Ex-India selector's colossal remark on Rohit Sharma's participation in 2027 World Cup
Published - 23 Jul 2024, 09:04 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:16 AM
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will both turn almost 40 by the time the next ODI World Cup comes in 2027. The World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia as the African continent will host the ICC event.
Rohit Sharma has been playing continuous cricket since the ODI World Cup. He led the team in the T20 World Cup as well and won the World Cup title. His recent World Cup win has prompted the new management under Gautam Gambhir to continue with him as the ODI skipper of the side as of now.
Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman and selector Saba Karim in a conversation with News 24 Sports said that Rohit can play the 2027 ODI World Cup if everything goes well. He pointed out Rohit's fitness with his comments and said that a lot depends on how fit Rohit can keep himself by the time the next ODI World Cup starts.
Saba Karim On Rohit Sharma's ODI Future
"It depends on Rohit Sharma as an individual. If we look at the performance there is no deficiency and we are seeing more and more progress. If everything goes well even after the Champions Trophy, Rohit maintains the same form then it is difficult to say whether he can play the 2027 ODI World Cup. It will be a take it by the year strategy and he will evaluate himself after the Champions Trophy and will decide if he can play further or not," said Saba Karim on News 24 Sports.
The BCCI was almost forced to retain Rohit Sharma as the team's T20I skipper with Hardik Pandya struggling with injury concerns. This is exactly the reason why Hardik was not named Rohit's successor as the management and Gambhir felt that Suryakumar Yadav would be a better choice. As of now SKY has been named the new T20I skipper for India and will lead the side in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Rohit Sharma also has been in tremendous batting form since the ODI World Cup. He ended as the second-highest run-getter of the 2023 ODI World Cup scoring 597 runs at an average of 54.27. Virat Kohli top-scored with 765 runs in the tournament at an average of 95.62. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also finished among the top run-getters and both are back in the ODI side as well.
In his interaction with News 24 Sports, Saba Karim also spoke about the two teams that have been selected for the series. He explained how the management got together to select a team and maintain the fact that the players needed continuity. He also explained why names like Abhishek Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal were not considered.
Speaking about the ODI team, he said that the management has banked on experience and decided to recall the likes of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul who performed well in the middle-order. The addition of Riahabh Pant further strengthens the ODI setup as he provides the option of an aggressive left-hander. Going forward in his interaction, he also shared his point of view on the selection of Suryakumar Yadav over Hardik Pandya as the T20I skipper of the side.
Speaking about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Gambhir in his presser also made it clear that if they maintain their fitness standards they can also play in the 2027 ODI World Cup as no one can question their potential as players.
