Kohli and Rohit last played for India in 2025 Champions Trophy.
Now ODIs remained the only format Rohit and Kohli play and were part of India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 win in March in the UAE. However, the next ODI assignment for India will be in October when they travel to Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is.
Both Virat and Rohit are apparently out of the running for the ODI World Cup 2027, even though form is on their side. Kohli has 14181 runs in 302 ODIs with 51 centuries, while Rohit has 11168 runs in 273 ODIs with 32 centuries.
Devang Gandhi, a former member of the BCCI selection committee, believes that the senior pair should be let go to make room for fresh players in the ODI format, such as Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaisal.
"How will you make players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan, among others, sit out when they have shown how well they can adapt? The bigger transition is from T20s to Tests. Once a player has done well in Test cricket and has the power game, ODIs should come more easily to them. It is very important that the selectors and the team management sit together and take a call," Gandhi told the Times of India.
According to reports, if players like Rohit and Kohli want to continue playing 50-over cricket, they would need to play local cricket. However, the BCCI has not yet made its decision official.
Gandhi, however, believes that even that isn't possible because young players must be prepared for the ODI World Cup in case Virat and Rohit don't perform as expected before the main event.
"If, say, in a year, we come to a situation where one of them is not firing and we need a replacement, the team management may not have enough time to prepare a player for the job. There's absolutely no doubt about the contribution of Rohit and Virat. But time doesn't wait for anybody," Gandhi added.
It remains to be seen what BCCI decides about the futures of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are giants in the ODI format.