New Delhi: Former Indian chief selector MSK Prasad has expressed confidence in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s continued value to the Indian team, saying the veteran duo will be huge assets for the Men in Blue in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The two batting stalwarts were at their free-flowing best, delivering a formidable display to help guide India to a nine-wicket win in the third ODI against Australia to avoid a series whitewash.
Rohit (121 not out) picked up from his impressive outing in Adelaide and played an even chanceless knock, notching his 33rd ODI hundred. The former India skipper is third in the tally for most hundreds in the format behind Kohli (51) and Sachin Tendulkar (49).
Meanwhile, Kohli, who had been dismissed for successive ducks in the first two ODIs, got back among the runs with a valuable unbeaten 74. Kohli’s unbeaten knock of 74 saw him leap past Kumar Sangakkara to become the second-highest run-getter in Men’s ODIs history. Currently boasting 14255 runs from 305 matches, Kohli is only behind Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time tally.
“I am extremely happy —I was really looking forward to their performances in the last two matches. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but I am thrilled that it finally happened, and it is very important. As you head towards the World Cup, you need their services. People like Virat and Rohit Sharma will be big assets for the side,” Prasad told IANS.
“I don’t really see people looking at them based on their current form. What they have done in the past, Rohit has become fit, and Virat is fit as always. So testing those people is, like, hah, very difficult to answer! They have got 83 or 84 hundreds between them, and if you want to test them, it is something surprising to me,” he said.
Rohit and Kohli, who have retired from Test cricket earlier this year, had announced their retirements from the T20Is following India Men’s T20 World Cup winning campaign, with star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja also hanging his boots from the shorter format.
Prasad further praised the trio for gracefully passing the baton to the next generation at the right time. “Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja: one good thing they’ve done is hand the baton to the next generation once they won the T20 World Cup. That’s a wonderful thing that has happened, and eventually these kids started flourishing and establishing themselves. We have a very good side,” he said.
Prasad also highlighted India’s depth in the shortest format, noting that even players like Shreyas Iyer have struggled to find a place in the squad, underscoring the strength of the current talent pool.
“In fact we have so many players waiting in the wing. Shreyas has not found a place in the T20 squad, which speaks volumes about the talent pool we have. It is definitely debatable whether he is there or not, but I think he should be there. That’s the secondary thing. We have enough firepower in our T20 side and have a solid team,” the former chief selector said.
(IANS)
