India’s team announcement for the coming ODI series against Australia was full of big surprises, the biggest among them being a leadership shift. Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as he is appointed as the new ODI captain. Shreyas Iyer has been made vice-captain. Both Rohit and Virat Kohli, however, have been named in the team and will return to international cricket for the first time since IPL 2025.
Ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has also opined on the issue, stating that if Rohit and Kohli want to be included in the 2027 ODI World Cup, they should actively play domestic cricket so as to stay fit and in touch. Early this year, Rohit guided India to triumph in the Champions Trophy. Although both Rohit and Kohli have formally retired from Test and T20I cricket, as yet, they have not resigned from ODIs.
“Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) want to play the 2027 World Cup, but game fitness will be a big challenge for them.”
“Rohit has worked well on his fitness. He is focused on that. But there is regular fitness, and game time fitness… If you are not playing regular cricket, both of them have to ensure some game time. They have to play domestic cricket.
“They are big players and know what to do. They have all the experience in the world. But they are not even playing T20Is, so there will be big gaps between the few matches that they play before the big World Cup. They will need regular game time to be fit for that. Only then will their dream to play the 2027 World Cup come true.”
The team also includes a few other alterations. Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakaravarthy were omitted, and Jasprit Bumrah was rested. Hardik Pandya continues to be out of action with a quadriceps injury, and Rishabh Pant is recovering from a broken foot.
