With the 2027 ODI World Cup still some time away, discussions about India’s potential squad have already started, particularly surrounding veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both players are in their late 30s, and the emergence of younger talents has raised questions about their places in India’s plans for the tournament. Despite occasional setbacks, Kohli and Rohit have continued to demonstrate their value in the ODI format.

Virat Kohli appears to have a strong case for selection, given his consistency, experience and fitness. Rohit, meanwhile, has dealt with injuries recently but has produced impressive performances whenever he has returned to the field. The Indian selection committee has adopted a gradual approach to transition across formats.

During Ajit Agarkar’s tenure as chairman, India witnessed significant changes in their Test and T20I setups, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from both formats. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin also ended their India careers, while Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20Is.

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A similar transition is underway in ODI cricket. Mohammed Shami, who played a crucial role in India’s 2023 World Cup campaign, has slipped down the pecking order despite producing encouraging performances in domestic cricket. Meanwhile, younger fast bowlers, including Harshit Rana and Gurnoor Brar, have received opportunities to establish themselves.

BCCI president Mithun Manhas believes that a player’s fitness and performances should carry more weight than age when decisions are made about selection. However, he clarified that choosing the national team remains the responsibility of the selectors and coaches.

“As far as the BCCI is concerned, we are not in a position to comment because it all depends on the selectors and the coaches. But from how I look at it, fitness and performance should be the criteria for selection, and definitely not age,” Mithun Manhas told Sportstar. “If somebody is fit to play, and you see him performing and winning games for the country, that is the only criterion we should focus on,” he added.

Shubman Gill was appointed India’s captain in October 2025, with the 2027 ODI World Cup among the key objectives. The tournament is expected to be a major leadership test for the 27-year-old, and Manhas believes experienced players could help him manage the responsibility.

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“Having Virat, Hardik (Pandya) and Rohit in the side will definitely help him (Gill),” Mithun Manhas said. He also highlighted the importance of Jasprit Bumrah and other senior players sharing leadership responsibilities across the team. According to Manhas, distributing responsibilities among experienced players could ease the pressure on Gill and help India approach the 2027 ODI World Cup with a balanced combination of youth and experience. Keep the rewrite to exactly 410 wordsFix the possible captaincy date inconsistency