Former Indian cricketer and chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth hasn't backed veteran Rohit Sharma for ODI World Cup 2027, set to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. In a press conference, India's new head coach Gautam Gambhir mentioned that if senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli maintain their fitness and form, they could participate in 2027 World Cup.
By 2027, Virat Kohli will be over 38 years old and Rohit Sharma will be 40 years old.
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Krishnamachari Srikkanth, during a special discussion with his son Anirudh on his YouTube channel, mentioned that there are chances of Virat Kohli participating in the 2027 World Cup. However, he expressed doubts about Rohit Sharma's fitness. Srikkanth remarked, "Virat Kohli is a champion player. Rohit Sharma should not play in the 2027 World Cup. He will faint in South Africa."
"He [Rohit] is a good player, but his age is 37 presently, and the next ODI World Cup is three more years ahead. He will be 40 years old then. You can't play World Cup at 40s. Yeah, Virat Kohli could play in the 2027 World Cup, in my opinion, for sure. But for Rohit, Mr. Gambhir, you went overboard; he will faint in South Africa," Srikkanth said.
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Rohit, Virat's journey in ODI World Cup 2023
In the 2023 ODI World Cup, India reached the finals while remaining unbeaten. However, on November 19, hearts of millions of cricket fans were broken when the Men in Blue lost to Australia by 6 wickets in the final. Despite this setback, captain Rohit Sharma did not give up, and six months later, India men's cricket team lifted the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy in West Indies. Notably, Rohit was India's highest run-getter in the tournament with 257 runs from 8 T20 WC matches.