Former Indian women’s team captain Anjum Chopra believes that there is still a lot of Test cricket left in Indian legend Virat Kohli, who recently retired from Test cricket. He praised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and supported them for the ICC ODI World Cup 2027.
Virat Kohli announced his retirement from the longest format of the game in May ahead of the start of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle. He shocked the entire cricket world with his sudden announcement and since then he has been seen only in ODI cricket.
However, Kohli has been performing almost at his best in the 50-over format. With three centuries in the last 9 international innings for the great Indian batsman, along with three of his half-centuries while chasing the target, Kohli finished 2025 as India’s highest run-scorer in this format and started 2026 on the same note.
Virat Kohli still has a lot of Test cricket left in him – Anjum Chopra
Former Indian captain Anjum Chopra showed some confidence in Virat Kohli’s abilities to excel in the longest format of the game
When quoted by Firstpost, when he was asked whether Virat still had more Test cricket left in him, he replied, “100%.” (He) definitely had. Why do you want similar standards or thought-process (in ODIs)? We have already seen (what happened) in Test cricket, why do you want to fall into the trap of missing him in ODI cricket as well? And for what reason? Because he is older than any other (active) cricketer? What difference does it make? We need such players who will perform well for India.
Anjum said, “After a few years, Jasprit (Bumrah) will not be there, Hardik (Pandya) will not be there. That will be the time when Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal and Arshdeep Singh (will be senior) so what? Eras keep changing, players keep coming.”
India recently lost the red-ball series against South Africa at home. One of the major highlights in the series was the ultra-aggressive approach of the Indian batsmen, who failed to put 124 runs on the board, a target that seems worth chasing even for a small fish.
Anjum told that in such times the need of batsmen like Virat Kohli comes to mind. He still has a lot of Test cricket left in him and due to his remarkable fitness, he can continue to play in any format.
Indian captain Anjum Chopra supports Rohit and Virat for CWC 2027
Anjum pointed out how Virat Kohli is currently batting like he was at his peak, and his fitness levels can definitely trouble any 20-year-old athlete. Rohit Sharma has also worked incredibly well on his fitness and is looking good.
Talking about the two most senior batsmen of the Indian team, Anjum Chopra pointed out that the way both the teams are batting in the 50-over format, there is no reason for them to be ignored from the Indian team.
He also cited examples of former cricketers who played till the end of their careers, such as Alex Stewart for Surrey and currently Mohammad Nabi, who plays for Afghanistan and domestic teams along with his 19-year-old son.
He said that other players cannot make that kind of impact because of their experience. “Because of the experience that these two players (Virat and Rohit) have, other players cannot make that kind of impact,” Chopra said.
He also made a bold claim that removing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the team means the Indian team will lose its strength.
“Nobody else in the Indian team has that kind of experience. And you can look at it – remove Virat and Rohit from the (ODI) batting lineup – does it look like a strong unit?” -Anjum further said.
Anjum Chopra makes bold statement on India’s T20 World Cup title defence.
When Anjum was asked if India could defend their ICC T20 World Cup title in the home edition of the World Cup in 2026, she gave a very quirky but impressive response.
She quoted a line from Alyssa Healy, who said, ‘You don’t go out there and defend the World Cup; You go there and win the World Cup.
Rohit Sharma, for the first time, will not be a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad, as he was the only player in the last 9 teams to play in the World Cup for India. The competition will not be easy without the two giants, and the ICC T20 WC holds the record for never being won by the same team in consecutive editions.
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