NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two of India’s best batsmen, are ready to make their long-awaited return to international cricket. On Saturday, the third day of the first Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad, the All India Selection Committee is expected to name the team that will fly to Australia.
Both veterans will probably be in the One-Day International (ODI) lineup, which will be their first games for India since the Champions Trophy earlier this year. It is very important that they come back to the 50-over setup because they will bring experience and firepower. This is especially true after they shocked everyone by saying they were retiring from Test cricket during the IPL, which left a big leadership gap in the Test team right before the England tour.
Concentrate on Fitness and Captaincy
While everyone expects them to be on the ODI team, the selection meeting will also allegedly include an important talk on who would captain the 50-over team.
Captaincy Under Scanner: Rohit Sharma led India to their second ICC championship in a year at the Champions championship, but the BCCI is apparently looking into his captaincy for the ODI format as they prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Cricbuzz said that the board wants to talk to Rohit directly about his future as captain during the selection meeting on Saturday.
Form for the Champions Trophy: Both players ended their last international game on a positive note in the Champions Trophy. Kohli was in great shape, striking a century against Pakistan and becoming the leading scorer in the semi-final against Australia. Rohit got out of a slump and played a match-winning innings against New Zealand in the final, giving India the title.
Fitness Confirmed: Reports say that both players have passed their required fitness tests. Rohit Sharma passed his test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after not playing international cricket for seven months. Reports say that Virat Kohli easily passed his fitness test in London. The official advertising teaser for the ODI series that the broadcasters put out also hinted at the presence of the two icons.
Look for replacements for injured players and ways to manage their workloads.
The selection committee has a tough job ahead of them: they need to find good substitutes for two important injured players who will miss the limited-overs part of the tour:
Hardik Pandya is out because he hurt his quadriceps.
Rishabh Pant is doing better after breaking his foot.
The selectors also need to be careful about how much work Test captain Shubman Gill has to do. Gill just led India in the Asia Cup and is now in charge of the team in a two-Test series. Because of the busy schedule and physical demands of the next tour, it is very likely that selectors would choose to rest him from either the ODI or T20I leg, or maybe even both, to keep him fit for longer-format battles in the future.