IND vs AUS: "We don't know what the situation is…"- Ajit Agarkar's bold statement on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's future

Ajit Agarkar clarified that keeping Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on trial till ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 would be a silly decision.

Indian Cricket Team’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar made a bold statement on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s future in ODI cricket. He has clarified that neither of the batting legends will be on trial in the upcoming series against the Australian Cricket Team, adding that they have achieved a lot.

Ever since Rohit and Kohli pulled the curtains down on their test career in May, fans have been concerned about whether both of them will be part of ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 or not. The tournament is scheduled to be played in October-November 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Since Rohit and Kohli only play in ODIs, their focus will be to play in the next ODI World Cup and lead the team to the title. Ahead of India’s tour of Australia 2025, Rohit was replaced by Shubman Gill as the captain in ODIs, which raised speculations eve more about their future. Gill also took over India’s as test captain following Rohit’s retirement.

Rohit and Kohli will make a comeback to the national side in the upcoming ODI series against Australia, having last played in March during ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With the assistance of Kohli in the batting department, Rohit led India to the trophy in the tournament by defeating New Zealand in the final.

Ajit Agarkar clears the stand on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s future in ODI cricket

Speaking during NDTV World Summit 2025 on Friday (October 17), Agarkar talked about Rohit and Kohli’s future in the ODI team, stating that both of them will not be on trial in every game. He also noted that the duo have a stunning batting record in the 50-over format so far.

“Look they [Rohit and Kohli] are part of the squad at the moment for Australia. In two years’ time, we don’t know what the situation is going to be. So why just them two? It could be some other younger players [who might miss out on the tournament],” he said.

“That would be a bit silly, isn’t it, when one averages over 50 and the other averages close to 50? You are not going to put them on trial in every game. But 2027 is a long way away, both of them play one format [and] they haven’t had a lot of cricket [in recent months]. Once they start playing, then you assess as you go forward,” Agarkar added.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not on trial- Ajit Agarkar

Agarkar also hailed Rohit and Kohli for leading the Men in Blue to multiple trophies in the past.

“They are not on trial, they’ve achieved all they had to achieve, not just winning trophies but runs [as well], so it’s not that if both of them don’t get runs in this series that will be the reason they won’t be there, or if they get three hundreds, [that will be] the reason they play 2027. It’s still a long way away, we’ll see how the team shapes up, but we have some ideas, and as we go along we’ll probably have a better idea of where the team is progressing,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Rohit and Kohli last played competitive cricket in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in June, where both of them had a decent outing with the bat. Kohli finished as the leading run-scorer for champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the tournament.

On the other hand, Rohit was the second-highest run-scorer for Mumbai Indians (MI) with four fifties. Now, both of them will aim for a spectacular show in the ODI series against Australia, which will begin on October 19 in Perth.

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