Virat Kohli is apparently not considering retiring from cricket despite his problems in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy but is aiming to play in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
Kohli, 36, experienced one of his worst years in international cricket in 2024. In Tests, he only got one century—in the second innings of the first BGT Test in Perth—while struggling with both spin in Indian conditions and pace abroad.
After Perth, his movements appeared to have slowed even more at BGT, where he scored 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75. All eight of his dismissals occurred with his bat hanging outside the off-stump, against a variety of bowlers and delivery lengths.
Apart from Virat Kohli, India captain Rohit Sharma is also under scrutiny as he amassed only 31 runs across 5 innings in the BGT 2024. India’s next Test assignment is in five months, a tour of England for the Anthony de Mello Trophy.
“Would be very hard for selectors to pick either Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli on the basis of IPL performance or form. There has to be some red-ball cricket for them in the lead-up to the England tour," a former selector told PTI.
Kohli and Rohit have not played domestic red-ball cricket for their respective states in several years. Kohli last played in the Ranji Trophy in 2012, and Rohit in 2015.
The Ranji Trophy's 2025 season concludes in February, however, it coincides with England's white-ball visit to India. Earlier speculations suggested that Kohli, Rohit, and Bumrah would skip the rubber to minimize their workload.
If they forego both the bilateral series and the Ranji Trophy, Kohli and Rohit would only get red-ball opportunities in India 'A' games and warm-up matches in England before the Tests, although even those will come after a rapid turnaround from the IPL 2025.
Although Kohli hasn't spoken to the media about his career in a while, Rohit announced on Saturday that he wants to play more. Speaking on Sunday, head coach Gautam Gambhir also left it up to the duo to do what they believed was best for Indian cricket.
(PTI inputs)
