'No question about Virat Kohli' - Robin Uthappa takes a 'fitness' dig at Rohit Sharma over 2027 World Cup participation

Former India batsman Robin Uthappa has shared his views on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's chances of playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup.

The topic has become a talking point after newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about the same while he was addressing the media on Monday (July 22). Both the batting stalwarts are past 35 and the next ODI World Cup is still three years away.

Rohit Sharma will be 40 while Virat Kohli will be 39 when the next edition of the World Cup takes place. Both of them recently retired from T20Is and it means they will hardly play a handful of limited-overs games in international cricket. Unsurprisingly, many believe that Kohli and Rohit might not play in the next World Cup.

However, Robin Uthappa has a different opinion. The former batter believes that the decision to play the next World Cup should be left to Kohli and Rohit because of their contribution to Indian cricket so far. He stated that both the veteran batsman deserve to bow out of the game on their own terms.

"Yes, it depends. We are no one to question their legacy. The way they have served Indian cricket, I think they deserve the opportunity to control the narrative. I think both Rohit and Virat deserve the opportunity to hang their boots completely when they feel like it. Because they will always operate in the best interest of Indian cricket," Robin Uthappa told Sports Tak.

"So I think as far as One Day World Cup is concerned, if Rohit and Virat will stay fit, there is no question about fitness as far as Virat is concerned. There is no question. I think it's about desire and intent. It is about mental fitness, if they get fatigued or if they burn out, it all depends on that," he added.

What if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli don't play next World Cup?

There is also a good chance that Rohit and Kohli might just decide to call it a day before the next ODI World Cup. Kohli and Rohit came up with brilliant performances in the last ODI World Cup and showed that they are still the main men for the big occasions.

Kohli had finished the competition as the highest run-scorer while Rohit was the second-highest run-scorer. Filling such a huge void will definitely be a monumental task for Indian cricket. However, Robin Uthappa believes India have the required firepower to replace the legendary batters should they decide to retire from ODIs before the next World Cup.

"They have just won the World Cup, so I think we will give them that time also. They can take it a year at a time. And if they choose not to play until then, then definitely there are players who will take up that mantle.

"We know the quality of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal have not played in a T20 World Cup. So those players, we have that caliber. In our country, it's a big blessing that there will never have a lack of high-quality players," said Uthappa.

Earlier, Gambhir backed both Kohli and Rohit to play the next World Cup, saying that they still have a lot of cricket left in them. He said that both the players can play in the tournament if they manage to keep themselves fit.