Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will have to play premier BCCI one-day tournament – Vijay Hazare Trophy – if the Indian stalwarts want to stand a chance to play at the ODI World Cup in 2027. Both Rohit and Virat have already retired from Tests and T20Is, with their sole focus on the ODI World Cup two years later in Africa.
While fans and many experts believe that the Indian batting duo are eyeing the quadrennial event, a report in Dainik jagran stated things might not be straightforward for the iconic duo. The report stated that the ODI series against Australia might be Rohit and Kohli’s last in the 50-over format, but if they want to play the 2027 ODI World Cup, they need to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy later in this year.
The development is similar to BCCI’s ultimatum earlier this year when the Indian board directed all the nationally contracted players were ordered to play the Ranji Trophy, if not injured. As a result, both Kohli and Rohit played the Ranji Trophy in 2025 after more than a decade.
What’s next for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli?
With international assignments for India in the month of August, the Men in Blue will next be seen in September in the Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. Post that, India will travel to Australia for a three ODIs and five T20Is. Virat and Rohit will be playing in the ODIs. Interestingly, both Kohli and Rohit retired from T20Is and Tests together.
Post the Australian tour, the Indian team will return home for a ODI series against South Africa. In 2026, India will play ODIs against New Zealand (January), Afghanistan (June), England (July), the West Indies (September), and another series against New Zealand (October).
Both Rohit and Virat could have returned to international action in August but India’s tour of Bangladesh was postponed to next year.
