Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play the 2027 ODI World Cup?

RO-KO Age and Longevity: Can They Last Till 2027?  

Rohit Sharma age and longevity Factor     

• Rohit Sharma is 38 years of age now.
• Rohit Sharma will be 40 years of age in the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Fitness is a major concern for Rohit Sharma and as he has retired from the Test format too, it will be difficult for him to maintain the same fitness level till the 2027 ODI WC because there are not many ODIs left in these two years. As I said earlier Rohit Sharma is playing from the 2007 T20 WC. But despite being an active player in 2011, he missed out in the 2011 WC squad. Rohit still regrets this development and thinks it is his lowest point in the career. “ Not getting picked for the 2011 World Cup squad, that was the saddest moment as it was happening in our own backyard, the final was played at my home ground”. 
 

After that Rohit transformed himself into a great ODI opener after opening in the 2013 Champions Trophy. But not winning the ODI WC in 2023 still hurts Rohit Sharma. India was agonisingly close to win the ODI WC in 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium but Australia broke millions of hearts, played brilliantly and won the 2023 WC beating India by seven wickets. This day still hurts Rohit Sharma. Rohit doesn’t have a WC in his kitty nor was he part of the 2011 ODI WC winning team. So the motivation should still be there and the fire should still burn in his stomach. Also Rohit has hit 32 centuries so far in the ODI format and if he plays till 2027 ODI WC he can score 50 hundreds which will be a major achievement by any player. Therefore there are more than enough reasons for Rohit to play in 2027 ODI WC.
 

Milestones to achieve for Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2027 ODI WC

• 12,000 ODI Runs. Right now he has scored 10,709 runs.

• Most ODI Hundreds after Sachin Tendulkar. He has scored 31 ODI Hundreds and he can realistically reach 36-38 hundreds.

• Most Double Centuries in ODIs. 

• Leading India to a World Cup victory. If he achieves this, he will be the second Indian captain to win three ICC titles for India. 

• 100 plus catches in ODIs.
  

Virat Kohli Age and Longevity Factor

• Virat Kohli is now 36 years old.

• Virat Kohli will be 38 years old during the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Virat Kohli has been playing International Cricket since 2011. Virat is relatively young as compared to Rohit and fitness wise Virat still is the fittest cricketer among all the cricket players. Even the youngsters can’t match the fitness level of Virat Kohli still now so fitness is never an issue for Virat. In fact many well wishers of Virat think he can easily continue playing till the 2027 WC. Virat has a great longevity factor. Therefore the issue with Virat Kohli can be motivation. Though Virat too has expressed his desire to play in the 2027 ODI WC. Recently during an event in Mumbai, Virat has hinted to play at the 2027 ODI WC.

 Kohli was asked about his next future plans in which Kohli has replied” The next big step? I don’t know, but maybe try to win the next World Cup.” Virat has played 302 ODI matches and out of these matches Virat has scored 51 centuries and he will be eyeing to score more centuries in the coming years so that nobody can even reach this tally in the future. His average in ODIs right now is 57.88 and he will want to take his average to 60 in the coming years. For Virat to get an automatic selection, he needs to stay in good form as his retirement saga has clearly shown no one even the great Virat Kohli is not dispensable in the Indian team.  

Milestones to achieve for Virat Kohli ahead of the 2027 ODI WC

• 14,000 ODI Runs.

• ODI Average record milestone.( Can extend up to 60.)

• Most number of centuries in ODIs ( Increase the record)

• Most Runs in World Cups ( Currently he has scored over 1,500 runs and he can go beyond Tendulkar’s 2, 278)

• Second player after Sachin Tendulkar who can score 30,000 plus International runs. Currently he has scored 26,800 plus International runs. 

2023 World Cup Performance: A Career Peak? 

The 2023 ODI World Cup has been a great tournament not only for the entire Indian team but also for the one day greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. From the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup, the word intent has been used by Rohit Sharma quite a number of times. Barring one or two matches, Rohit has been giving great starts to the team with his aggressive batting intent which have put the team in a great position. Statistics wise Rohit had the best World Cup in the 2019 WC where he has hit five centuries but India could only reach the semi finals in that World Cup. Therefore there was no great impact compared to the 2023 ODI WC.
 

For example in the match against Pakistan, India chasing a total of 192 at the iconic Narendra Modi stadium Rohit Sharma gave a blistering start and India chased down the total in just 30.3 overs. So Rohit Sharma had the peak performance in that WC. And as far as Virat Kohli is concerned, he too had a great World Cup as he was the highest run getter in the tournament. This performance marked the return of King Kohli as he struggled for runs from the year 2020 to 2022. After two mediocre years, Kohli had indeed peaked in the right tournament.

Rohit Sharma Stats of 2023 ODI WC

• 11 Matches

• 597 Runs

• Average of 54.27.

Virat Kohli Stats of 2023 ODI WC

• 11 Matches

• 765 runs

• Average of 95.63.

How Many Matches Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Will Play Before 2027 ODI World Cup?

India doesn’t play too many ODI matches in between the 2027 ODI World Cup. India are scheduled to play just 27 matches before the 2027 ODI World Cup.These matches will be played within nine series where each series will be a three match series. 

BCCI’s Vision for 2027: Will Seniors Fit In?
 

Despite announcing retirement from the Tests and the T20 format, the BCCI will continue to retain their Grade A + central contract. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia has confirmed the development today. “ They are still part of Indian cricket, they will get all facilities of Grade A+.” announced Saikia to ANI. 

That means the board still supports both Virat and Rohit to play until the 2027 ODI World Cup and they are in their long term plans as far as the ODI team is concerned. But having said a lot of the things will depend on the form of both the legends. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has always maintained that every player irrespective of their stature needs to perform to stay in the team. No player is bigger than the team. The team wins as a unit and loses as a unit.

Therefore a lot of things will depend upon the form and fitness of these two players ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. In the case of Rohit Sharma, fitness will be a major aspect going ahead in the 2027 ODI World Cup. He needs to play domestic matches like the Duleep Trophy and all other inter state tournaments. He also needs to work with coaches to stay fit in these coming two years. Also there are players like Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma who are performing extremely well and the BCCI will look to fit in and try experimenting ahead of the 2027 ODI WC.

What Rohit and Virat said about Future Vision?

Recently after winning the Champions Trophy on March 11, 2025 the first thing Rohit Sharma said is “ I am not going to retire.” Then he explained in detail. “ I’m not going to retire from this format, just to make sure no rumours are spread moving forward.” Also in a candid interview given to journalist Vimal Kumar, Rohit said “ I’ve done it; I’ve scored the runs I was meant to. Now, I want to play cricket in a different way. I’m not taking any of this for granted. Don’t assume that things will just keep going the same way, that I’ll keep scoring 20 or 30 runs and just continue playing. The day I feel like I’m not able to do what I want to do on the field, I’ll stop playing. That’s for sure. But right now, I know that what I’m doing is still helping the team.”
 

 Virat also expressed his desire to play in 2027 ODI World Cup. Though he hasn’t talked in a detailed manner like Rohit did but in a recent event, Virat was asked “ Staying in the present. Any hints about the next big step”, asked the host. To which Virat replied “ The next big step. I don’t know, but maybe I will try to win the next World Cup.”

After hearing this the crowd started shouting in joy. Though the next ODI World Cup is two years from now, I feel a lot of things will come into picture before selecting these two giants of Indian cricket. From their form to their fitness everything will count. 

The next 27 matches will be crucial for both of them to get any chance in the 2027 ODI World Cup. Both of them need to play every series and at this point of their careers, where they have retired from two formats they can’t skip a single series be it at home or away. 

These are testing times for coach Gautam Gambhir as well. Because after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the two formats, all eyes will be on Gambhir. Ahead of the England series, Gambhir will face it all from praises to criticism. As Ashwin said in his Youtube channel the Gambhir era starts now. Truly it will start from the real sense.