Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (ANI Photo)
‘They’ll score runs, win you matches’
NEW DELHI: With the 2027 ODI World Cup now just over a year away, former India batter Aakash Chopra believes Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli do not need to prove anything beyond what they have already done — they simply need to keep scoring runs. Because shreyas Iyer will be at the Asian Games, the biggest change you notice is that KL Rahul has been made vice-captain in place of Shreyas Iyer. So, someone will be left out, and therefore, every time you get an opportunity, you have to grab it with both hands,” he said.
So, looking at it from this perspective, the only expectation from Rohit and Kohli is just this: keep scoring runs,” Chopra told JioHotstar’s ‘Follow the Blues’. So, considering all of that, a very good team has been picked, and full marks to the Indian team selectors,” he said. “The World Cup is just one year away now, and I know that if Rohit and Kohli get in, they will score runs, win you matches, and possibly win you trophies. “With the available players, you try and make the most of what you have. There was certainly a question mark over Rishabh Pant , but I also liked Dhruv Jurel’s selection. “One big highlight, in my opinion, was pulling Nitish Kumar Reddy out of the Asian Games and playing him here. So, if Hardik Pandya is not available someday, they really want somebody who can bowl pace and bat as well. Ravindra Jadeja will have to, of course, take wickets and score runs. Fielding has always been his strong suit. But from a World Cup point of view, you have Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar , and not all of them will go to South Africa.
Rohit and Kohli are set to return to India’s ODI side for the three-match home series against the West Indies, beginning in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27. With Shubman Gill leading the side and KL Rahul named vice-captain, the experienced duo’s form will be one of the major talking points as India begin to shape their plans for the World Cup in South Africa.
But for white-ball cricket, as of now, I think this selection committee has made up its mind,” he said. “You have to think about who you can take along as reserves for the World Cup. So, there will be a toss-up here between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who are both part of this team, and whenever they have played, they have scored a lot of runs. So, I am looking at an opportunity opening up for one of these two. Auqib Nabi (maiden ODI call-up for West Indies series) has been travelling with the team for some time now, but is not getting a chance to play in the XI. If he gets his opportunity, I will be quite excited to see him perform. “Rishabh Pant is a very strange and very unique case. he was stripped of his vice-captaincy duties there as well While he is playing Test cricket and is a very important member of the red-ball side. But in ODI cricket, without playing, he has been bid goodbye. At the same time, he has been made the captain of the Rest of India (ROI), which also tells you that, with respect to red-ball cricket, they are very serious about Rishabh playing a huge role in the longer format.