Former India cricketer K Srikkanth has said that it will not be possible for Rohit Sharma to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa due to fitness and age. Rohit Sharma has not won the elusive 50-over ICC title after having come so close in the 2023 edition as well. Rohit Sharma recently added during an event in Dallas that he would continue playing for India, at least for a little while before retiring as well.
Considering that he has already retired from T20Is after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, he has not ruled out playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup to add another trophy to his trophy cabinet. In his first-ever press conference as India head coach, Gautam Gambhir also welcomed the idea of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continuing until the 2027 ODI World Cup as well.
“Gautam Gambhir is most hip-hopper. He is a real U-turn man. Before the T20 World Cup 2024, he was saying if Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma do not perform, they will not sit in my team. Then he took a U-turn now, saying there is no player like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. After becoming head coach, he said that both have a lot of cricket left and hopefully they will fit for the 2027 World Cup,” K Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel (via CricketAddictor).
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“He 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. I mean, unless you are a super-fit person like MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar, 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,” he further added (via Hindustan Times).
Meanwhile, the futures of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were among the key points in Gautam Gambhir’s first interaction with the media as well. He showed his desire for both to stay with the team for as long as possible.
“I think both those guys have got a lot of cricket left in them and more importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia, obviously they would be motivated enough and then hopefully they can keep their fitness till the 2027 World Cup as well. This is a very personal decision,” Gambhir said (via Hindustan Times).
