Former head coach of the Indian national cricket team, Ravi Shastri has given a big statement on veteran batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma before returning to international cricket.
Ravi Shastri said that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not asked to retire from Test cricket and they left on their own terms and the same can be expected in ODI cricket.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ready for international comeback
It has been a long time since Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played international cricket for the Indian national cricket team wearing the blue jersey.
He last played for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which was played in the UAE and Pakistan in the months of February and March. Kohli looked in incredible form with the bat throughout the contest, while Rohit Sharma played a match-winning innings in the final to help India lift another ICC trophy.
After that, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli performed for Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and announced their retirement from Test cricket midway through the league.
His retirement ruled him out of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, and he did not participate in the Asia Cup 2025 as it was played in the T20I format, which he had skipped last year.
Meanwhile, Kohli and Rohit will return to ODI form in the upcoming three-match series against Australia. The great modern-day batsmen love playing in and against Australia and have scored a lot of runs over the years.
Rohit Sharma has scored 1328 runs in 30 innings in Australia at an average of 53.12 and overall he has scored 2407 runs in 46 ODIs against them at an average of 57.30. Talking about Kohli, his average in ODIs is 51.03 and he has scored 1327 runs in 29 matches in Australia and overall in 50 matches he has scored 2451 ODI runs against them at an average of 54.46.
It depends how hungry you are – Ravi Shastri
Speculation has intensified regarding the possible participation of Rohit and Kohli in the ICC World Cup 2027 and now Ravi Shastri has shared his views on the matter. The former India head coach said that the batsmen have a lot of experience and their hunger along with fitness will decide the fate of the World Cup.
“(Virat Kohli) is a master chaser and Rohit is explosive at the top. They seem to have a lot of cricket in them,” Shastri said on Fox Sports.
“It depends on how hungry you are, how fit you are, whether the passion for the game is still there or not. With his experience, it will come in handy,” he said.
Also read: Nepal and Oman secure places in T20 World Cup 2026; UAE, Japan and Qatar compete for final spot
He was not asked to retire – Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri further said that the 2027 World Cup is still a long way off and taking things series by series is the ideal way for Rohit and Virat Kohli. He also revealed that both of them were not asked to retire from Test cricket and the same will happen in ODI cricket.
“I would say take it one series at a time. There is still a long way to go. Virat retired from Test cricket, as did Rohit. He was not asked to retire. He left on his own will. I think it is the same. If they are not enjoying it, if the form is not good, you never know. They can retire on their own.
“If they are not enjoying it, if the form is not good, they can take a break themselves,” Shastri said.