Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already retired from T20I and Test formats.
There has been no ODI cricket for India since the end of Champions Trophy 2025 in March, and the next series is scheduled in Australia later this month.
On Saturday (October 4), the BCCI selectors announced India’s ODI squad for the upcoming Australia tour. The Ajit Agarkar-led panel removed the 38-year-old Rohit from ODI captaincy and handed over the reins to young opener Shubman Gill.
Rohit and Kohli, two of the modern-day greats, continue to feature in the 15-member squad as specialist batters, with selectors ensuring that experience remains integral to India’s transition.
However, a report published in The Telegraph indicates that Rohit and Kohli could soon become 'former cricketers'.
According to the report, it will be tough for both the stalwarts to look beyond the three ODIs in Australia.
After the Australia series, India will play three ODIs against South Africa in November-December and as many versus New Zealand in January.
Rohit, who would be 40 by the time 2027 World Cup starts in South Africa, was reportedly never in the selectors’ scheme of things.
"The plan to put Shubman Gill in charge of the ODI side had been devised much earlier, and the new Test captain’s success in England only helped the selectors and the team management’s cause. The blueprint, devised by Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir, was kept a closely guarded secret and got the approval of the power-wielders in the Board," the report stated.
Even though Kohli remains one of the fittest cricketers in the world, age isn’t on his side as well as he would be 39 by the time the quadrennial event gets underway
During the squad announcement presser on Saturday, chief selector Ajit Agarkar highlighted the lack of game time for them in the ODI format.
“They will perhaps find it a little bit alien just to play only one format, and the one which is played the least,” said Agarkar. “We’ll find out a bit more when we see them playing in Australia.
“Obviously, at some stage, you have got to start looking at where the next World Cup is, it’s also a format which is played the least now, so you don’t get that many games to actually give the next guy or if there is going to be another guy that much time to prepare himself or plan,” he added.
“We are still two years away, it might look like a long time, but we don’t quite know how many one-day games we might play (and yet) closer to the World Cup we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have... it is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket at the moment.”
India’s bench strength has also forced the selectors to make tough calls. Yashasvi Jaiswal is still waiting in the wings, while the recent Asia Cup T20 proved that Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma are ready to take strides in the 50-over format.
“Abhishek has been amazing in the six-over Powerplay in T20s. Imagine if he gets 10 and survives through that phase! He can better Rohit and give the innings a head start,” someone in the know of things quoted as saying by the leading daily.