Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, having already bid farewell to Test and T20 cricket, continue to remain active in the ODI format and are expected to travel to Australia in October for a three-match series starting on the 19th in Perth. Recent speculation suggested that the two icons might also walk away from 50-over cricket after the Australia series but fresh updates indicate that the Indian cricket board is in no hurry to make a decision on their future.
Officials within the board are considering having both the players feature in a couple of India A matches in September or early October as part of their preparations for the Australian tour. These games, against an Australia A side likely to include Jake Fraser-McGurk, are scheduled for September 30, October 3 and October 5 in Kanpur. The fixtures will take place at the same time the senior team is engaged in a Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad.
Kohli and Rohit, each with more than 10,000 ODI runs, last played a 50-over match on March 9, 2025, in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai. Rohit’s 76 from 83 balls in that 252-run chase earned him the Player of the Match award. Kohli, too, had memorable performances in the tournament, including an 84-run knock against Australia in the semifinal and an unbeaten century against Pakistan in the group stage.
While some reports have hinted at the possibility of a farewell match for the pair in Sydney on October 25, sources within the board have dismissed the notion, stating that no such discussions have taken place.
The cricketing calendar ahead offers further opportunities for ODI appearances. The Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s premier domestic one-day tournament, begins on December 24 but even before that, the national team is set to host South Africa for three ODIs from November 30. In the lead-up to that series, India A will also face South Africa A in three one-day matches in Rajkot on November 13, 16 and 19. Whether Kohli and Rohit would participate in some or all of those preparatory matches will depend on the selectors’ strategy and the players’ own decisions.
The tight scheduling continues into January, when three ODIs against New Zealand are slated for January 11, 14 and 18, overlapping with the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This overlap means that even if the two veterans were to appear in the domestic competition, it would likely be for only a couple of matches at most.
For now, the focus remains on their immediate preparations for the Australia tour, with any decisions about their ODI careers still to be taken which means their fans can take a sigh of relief.
