Former India opener Aakash Chopra shared his thoughts on the future of veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli amidst reports of the duo playing their final international matches in the ODI series in Australia later this year.

According to a Dainik Jagran report, if Rohit and Virat hope to compete in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, they may be required to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

It would have been better if they had retired from the white-ball formats, but according to former India opening batsman Aakash Chopra, Rohit and Kohli bid goodbye to the incorrect format (Tests). On the same day that India won the T20 World Cup in June 2024, Rohit and Kohli announced their retirements from T20Is.

Then, in the series against Australia and New Zealand, the two senior Indian batsmen saw their Test results diminish. Before the England series lineup was revealed, Rohit and Kohli eventually declared their retirement from Test cricket.

It's clear that the two players want to end their careers on the highest possible note, having won the upcoming 50-over competition after witnessing heartbreak in the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

With only a few ODIs left before the next IPL, Chopra posed some challenging queries, such as how Virat and Rohit will manage to receive adequate playing time and maintain their motivation.

“The duo said goodbye to the wrong format. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli suddenly decided to bid adieu to Test cricket. They said they will only play ODIs now. This is my problem. I'll tell you why. Test cricket is the toughest format. White-ball cricket is monotonous, but the same is not the case for Tests. Tests are the toughest, while ODIs are the easiest when it comes to batters. There is relatively no pressure,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“If you are playing just six ODIs in a year, then there are just six days of game time for you. How will you stay motivated? How will you prepare? How will you stay fit and in the best shape? This is what I'm thinking. You should have said that I'll not play ODIs and T20Is, but I'll play Tests. Consider that if you had played the series against England, you would have played for 25 days. Then you would get the series against West Indies and South Africa,” he added.

Chopra further stated that since Rohit and Kohli have retired from Tests, they won’t play in the Ranji Trophy, meaning very little game time for the duo, making it difficult for them to stay in the groove.

“If you were playing Tests, and somehow there was a gap, you could always play Ranji Trophy. You can play county cricket. If you play the longest format, you stay in the game. When you leave tests, you wouldn't go to play Ranji Trophy. What's the point of playing Ranji and county when one has retired from tests?” said Chopra.

He, however, rubbished the reports of the veteran duo being asked to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, saying he is confident that the two batters won't do so.

“The chatter about playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy—the tournament will happen in December. What's the point? There are nine ODIs for India till the next IPL. That's about it. Just nine days of cricket action for you. You're not playing at all. You're not practicing.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli don't have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy; they wouldn't be selected based on their performance in the tournament. Let's be honest about this. It's bogus talk. If they had played tests and left ODIs, staying in the groove would have been easier,” he added.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are legends of the one-day format. Kohli has 14181 runs in 302 ODIs with 51 centuries, while Rohit has 11168 runs in 273 ODIs with 32 centuries.