India’s World Cup-winning duo, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who recently retired from Tests and T20Is, are still eyeing a place in the squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup. While they led India to the T20 World Cup title in Barbados in 2024, ending the nation’s 11-year ICC trophy drought, and later played their final Test series in Australia during the 2024 25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, questions now loom over their ODI future.
Their last appearance in international cricket came during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where India remained unbeaten and defeated New Zealand in the final in Dubai to lift the title. Despite stepping away from two formats earlier this year (Rohit on May 7) and )Kohli on May 12)the two veterans remain determined to represent India in the next 50-over World Cup. Rohit and Virat have been the pillars of Indian cricket since last 10 years or more.
However, former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has raised doubts over whether the duo will be able to sustain themselves until 2027 while only playing ODIs.
“It’s too far, actually. It’s been a very long time, and they are not playing any other formats. It becomes very difficult for anyone, no matter how much commitment you have or how big a great you are,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“If you do not play the game continuously, somewhere the game moves ahead and you are left behind,” he added.
Harbhajan also drew parallels with MS Dhoni’s situation post-2019. Dhoni did not return to international cricket after India’s heartbreaking World Cup exit and later struggled to produce consistent performances in the IPL.
“It will be hard. We have seen MS Dhoni playing in the IPL. Look at his performance in the last three years. You see the difference between this Dhoni and the Dhoni from six years ago when he was playing for India consistently,” he added.
While both Rohit and Kohli remain committed to guiding India to another World Cup title, concerns from experienced voices like Harbhajan point to the physical and competitive challenges that lie ahead. They are yet to play a game after IPL and their comeback is further delayed after the Bangladesh series scheduled in 2025 is shifted to 2026. Asia Cup will be in T20I format and thus fans have to wait till Australia Series in october to witness the star duo.