MS Dhoni, the legendary Indian captain who led the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, and World Cup wins during his tenure, has shared his thoughts on whether veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli can play for India in the ICC World Cup 2027.

The 2027 edition of the ICC World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. And the focus of the Indian fans is on two of the all-time greats of one-day cricket—Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Having retired from T20Is in 2024 and Tests in 2025, Rohit and Kohli now only play for India in the ODI format. Both the veteran players have done well with the bat in the ODI series in Australia and at home against South Africa and New Zealand recently, but the question remains about their World Cup participation, as Rohit will be 40 and Kohli will be 39 years old when the tournament starts.

MS Dhoni also shared his views on this issue and made it clear that, in his opinion, performance and fitness should be the primary determinants of whether a player should represent India, rather than age.

Dhoni made the statements in response to a question from broadcaster Jatin Sapru about whether batting stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should play in India's 2027 ODI World Cup campaign.

“Why not? Listen, the thing is, why should somebody not play the next World Cup? For me, age is not a criterion. Performance and fitness are. So, I always feel nobody should be told anything. But the thing should be clear. Everyone will be treated the same way. When I made my debut, I was 24. Nobody came and told me anything. So, if I am playing for India—1, 2, 5, or 10 years, nobody needs to come and tell me about my age. Is age a factor? No. Fitness? Yes,” Dhoni told host Jatin Sapru at an event. 

“Even if you’re 22 and you’re not fit, that’s a problem. Whether it’s Rohit, whether it’s Virat, or even other names that come forward, the whole thing is, just because somebody is in their 30s, whether they can or cannot play the next World Cup, it’s not for us to decide. It’s for them to decide. If they keep performing, if they have the urge to do well, then why not?” he added.

In Rohit's and Kohli's cases, their retirement from T20Is and Tests, along with the reality that they now play only one format, raises concerns regarding game time. Kohli, on the other hand, has firmly put any misgivings to rest, scoring 616 runs in his past seven ODIs, with Rohit following closely after with 401 from his last ten.

Dhoni, on the other hand, has always been a firm believer in experience, putting his trust in players who have done it all.

“How do you get experienced people? You can’t get a 20-year-old who is experienced, unless it’s Sachin Tendulkar. You can only get experience if you start playing at 16-17. And international cricket is very different. So now if you want experience, you need people who are 30, 32, or 33. If you’re calling 20-25 games as experience, that’s wrong. If people are performing, they’ll be there. If they’re not performing, they won’t,” added MS Dhoni.

Rohit and Kohli last played for India in the ODI series against New Zealand and will next be seen in action in IPL 2026.

(ANI inputs)