Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stole the show in India’s 2-1 ODI series victory over South Africa at home. Both batting stalwarts only play the ODI format now, having retired from T20Is and Tests.

Kohli earned the Player-of-the-Series accolade for his 302 runs in the three-match series, including two hundreds (135 and 102) and a half-century (65*). On the other hand, Rohit finished the series with scores of 57, 14 and 75.

Even since their Test retirements in May this year, questions have been raised over their ODI future, especially their participation in the 2027 World Cup. However, Kohli and Rohit silenced the doubters with top performances against South Africa, prompting Harbhajan Singh to say that the veteran duo should be central to planning for the quadrennial event.

The former India spinner insisted the team should be built around these proven match-winners, while also arguing that sidelining them for youngsters could be detrimental in big games.

“Are there bigger and better players than Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli?,” Harbhajan asked the selectors and team management while speaking on his YouTube channel.

“You shouldn't sideline them but instead think about how to build the team around them,” he stressed. “If you lose experience in the pursuit of youth, then it can be a problem in big matches. So they must play, and this will be a big World Cup because after that, it's possible they'll never play another World Cup.”

Harbhajan further threw his weight behind Kohli and Rohit, citing that both players remain at the peak of their batting craft and will maintain the fitness needed to compete at the highest level in 2027. He criticized the trend of prematurely moving on to younger players without respecting proven performers.

“It’s okay to look towards the younger players, but don’t ignore the players who are already proven performers with the ability to deliver in big matches,” he said. “The batting order looks so solid with them.”

Harbhajan recalled India’s 2023 World Cup final heartbreak, and said the duo should be the first two names featuring in the squad for the next edition.

“The way India played under Rohit Sharma was unbelievable,” Harbhajan said. “So the first two names should be Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and the rest of the team should be formed after that.”

He concluded, “Whether India win the World Cup or not in 2027 is a different story. But at least there won’t be the regret that they didn’t play their best players. If their fitness is intact, they should be ready. These two are your best players… they should always play.”