Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma’s 2027 ODI World Cup future: BCCI president clarifies stance on age, fitness and performance

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma’s 2027 ODI World Cup future: BCCI president clarifies stance on age, fitness and performance originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• BCCI president Mithun Manhas has said the places of India batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the 2027 ODI World Cup plans should depend on fitness and performance, not age.
• He said the decision rests with the selectors and the coaches, and that Kohli, Sharma and Hardik Pandya can help captain Shubman Gill manage the demands of leadership.
• Kohli made 139 not out, and Rohit Sharma made 101 and 92 in the recent ODI series against the West Indies, which India won 2-1.

BCCI President steps into the Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma debate ahead of the 2027 World Cup

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have faced the same question for more than a year. Both retired from Tests in 2025 and left T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup, so ODIs are their only international format.

The 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa is scheduled to run from 4 October to 21 November. Rohit will turn 40 before it starts and Kohli will turn 39 during it.

Their recent returns have kept the argument alive. Kohli hit 139 not out off 88 balls in the first ODI against the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram, his 55th ODI century.

Rohit then made 101 off 75 balls in Guwahati and 92 off 85 balls in New Chandigarh, where he became the fourth opener to reach 10,000 ODI runs at the top of the order. India won the series 2-1.

The selection panel is also in transition. Ajit Agarkar's term as chief selector ended on 4 October, and former spinner Pragyan Ojha is interim chairman while the BCCI looks for a permanent successor.

Against that backdrop, BCCI president Mithun Manhas spoke to Sportstar in an exclusive interview. He said the decision rests with selectors and coaches but argued that age should not be the yardstick.

MORE: Steve Smith’s concussion history: A look at Australia star's head-injury scares

What Mithun Manhas said about Kohli and Rohit

Manhas was careful to separate the board's role from the selectors' role. He told Sportstar that the call on Kohli and Rohit belongs to the selection panel and the coaches. He then gave his view on how the question should be judged. The BCCI president framed it as a matter of availability and output.

"As far as the BCCI is concerned, we are not in a position to comment because it all depends on the selectors and the coaches. But from how I look at it, fitness and performance should be the criteria for selection, and definitely not age," he said. He added a clear test for what should count.

"If somebody is fit to play, and you see him performing and winning games for the country, that is the only criterion we should focus on," Manhas said. Both batters have given selectors recent evidence.

Kohli passed 15,000 ODI runs during his 139 not out, an innings that included nine sixes. Rohit totaled 225 runs across the three matches, scoring 32, 101, and 92.

Manhas also spoke about how the senior players fit around Shubman Gill, who replaced Rohit as India's ODI captain. He pointed to leadership spread across the squad.

"Having Virat, Hardik and Rohit on the side will definitely help him. Then there are the likes of Bumrah, who could lead, who can be the bowling captain, and then somebody who will be the fielding captain," Manhas said.

He said the experience of those players matters most when the team is under pressure. "They have been under pressure, and they have delivered so many times in crunch situations. So, it is a good combination," he said.

MORE: Shreyas Iyer's record as captain defending 200-plus totals in T20 cricket

What the Manhas stance means for Kohli and Rohit's World Cup chances

Manhas' criteria of fitness and performance may be BCCI's stance, but the final call of selection will rest on the selectors and coaches.

The panel that will apply that test is itself changing. Agarkar has left, Ojha is interim chairman, and no permanent chair has been named. A report before the West Indies series said the selectors did not see Rohit in their long-term plans. He was picked anyway and scored 101 and 92 in the last two matches.

Age will remain a point of discussion, regardless of what the board says. Rohit turns 40 on April 30, 2027, five months before the tournament starts, and Kohli turns 39 on November 5, during the tournament. The workload plan Manhas described, built on individual assessments, suggests that managed rest rather than exclusion is the likely tool.