During the recent Indian team announcement for the Australia white-ball series, Ajit Agarkar had made it clear, that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will have to play domestic cricket, if they want to be in the loop for the 2027 World Cup. The duo have retired from Tests and T20Is, and only play ODIs now.
Rohit & Virat to Play ODIs vs AUS
The Australia series will also be their first assignment after the 2025 Champions Trophy win. Now, Irfan Pathan has only substantiated the argument saying, playing domestic cricket is important for their match fitness. “Rohit and Virat want to play the 2027 World Cup, but game fitness will be a big challenge for them.
“Rohit has worked well on his fitness. He is focused on that. But there is regular fitness, and game time fitness… If you are not playing regular cricket, both of them have to ensure some game time. They have to play domestic cricket,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Irfan Pathan Says, Domestic Cricket Necessary
The former all-rounder also went to say Virat and Rohit know, what they need to do. “They are big players and know what to do. They have all the experience in the world. But they are not even playing T20Is, so there will be big gaps between the few matches that they play before the big World Cup. They will need regular game time to be fit for that. Only then will their dream to play the 2027 World Cup come true.”
The IND vs AUS series starts on October 19, and after the three ODIs, both teams will play a T20I series as well. Post that, the two Indian stalwarts will be seen in action in the SA ODIs, which will be played in November in India.
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