Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired from Tests and T20Is, but they are still active cricketers in ODIs and in all likelihood will travel to Australia in October this year to take part in the three-match
ODI series, which is starting on October 19 in Perth. It was reported on Sunday (August 10) that the two could quit the 50-over format of the game as well post the conclusion of the Australia series in a couple of months’ time. But according to a fresh report in news agency PTI on Sunday evening, “The Indian cricket board is in no rush to take a call on the two maestros” but could ask the duo to play a couple of matches for India A in September-October against Australia A as part of their preparations for the series in Australia.
“There is a school of thought in the BCCI that, for the duo to get ready for the Australia series Down Under, they can play a couple of India A games in India when the Australia A team—which will have Jake Fraser-McGurk in its ranks—tours. The three List A games will be played in Kanpur on September 30, October 3 and October 5, at the same time the senior team plays the first Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad,” the report read.
Kohli and Rohit, who have more than 10,000 runs to their credits in ODIs, last played a 50-over match on March 9, 2025, against New Zealand in Dubai during the Champions Trophy 2025 final.
In that match, Rohit scored 76 runs from 83 balls in the 252-run chase and won the Player of the Match award. Kohli, on the other hand, had scored 84 runs from 98 balls against Australia in the first semifinal and an unbeaten 100 runs from 111 balls against Pakistan in the Group A match.
While there are some media reports about BCCI offering the duo a farewell game at Sydney on October 25, the BCCI source in the know of things said that as of now, no such discussions have taken place.
As far as playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy is concerned, the source said that the national One-Day Championship starts on December 24, 2025, and even before that, there is another three-match ODI series at home against South Africa starting November 30.
“Even if they play Vijay Hazare, before that there would already be six ODIs that will be played. In between the Australia ODIs and the South Africa ODIs, there is an India A series against South Africa A where three List A games (50 overs) will be held at Rajkot on November 13, 16 and 19, respectively.
“Now, will the duo want to play those three A games, or possibly two, before the South Africa series is the question. Even more important is whether Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues would want that,” he said.
“Overlapping the Vijay Hazare Trophy (December 24, 2025 – January 18, 2025) will be the three ODIs between India and New Zealand (January 11, 14, 18). So even if they play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, it can’t be for more than two to three games,” he added.
