The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has dispelled rumors about Team India mainstays Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s ODI future. Both of the former India captains are available to play one-day matches for India, according to BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli declared their retirement from Twenty20 International cricket following the Men in Blue’s victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies. A week apart, the two announced their retirements from Test cricket in May of this year, before of the current England visit.
In recent days, there has been discussion about the two top Indian players’ futures in the one-day format, especially given that the next ODI World Cup will be held in 2027. On Tuesday, July 15, BCCI vice-president Shukla made the following statement in an interview with ANI:
“I want to make it very clear once and for all… It’s a good thing for us that they are available for one-day cricket.”
Rajeev Shukla
#WATCH | London, UK | BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla says, "…We are all feeling the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The decision to retire made by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was their own. It is the policy of BCCI that we never tell any player to retire…We will… pic.twitter.com/4ShzHNG5W3
— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2025Additionally, Shukla denied rumors that Rohit and Kohli were compelled to give up Test cricket. While addressing reporters in London, he stated:
“We also miss Rohit and Virat. But Rohit and Virat have taken this decision on their own. BCCI has a very strict policy that we don’t tell any player when or from which format they should retire. It is up to the players, and the duo made their own decision to quit Test cricket. We will always miss them; they are great batters.”
Rajeev Shukla
Dhoni behind the stumps, Rohit and Kohli at the slips, and Bumrah takes a wicket then. It feels like a dream now. pic.twitter.com/zQvnJ0xYkn
— Shrey (@Shrey__123) July 15, 2025Neither Rohit nor Kohli would do much on that Test tour of Australia in 2024-25. Rohit was simply horrific as he scored 31 runs in five innings with an average of 6.20. In contrast, Kohli scored only 190 runs in 9 innings at the average of 23.75. During the first test in Perth, he made an unbeaten century but he could not contribute seriously in the next four Test matches.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have stellar ODI records
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will now only play in the one-day format for India after retiring from the Test and T20I forms. For the Men in Blue, both seasoned cricket players have an outstanding record in One-Day Internationals.
Virat Kohli is the third highest run scoring batsman in the format in international cricket. In 302 games he has scored 14,181 runs at 57.88 and a strike rate of 93.34, with 51 hundreds and 74 fifties. On the other hand, Rohit has featured in 273 games and has scored 11,168 runs at an average of 48.76 and a strike rate of 92.80 with the assistance of 32 hundreds and 58 fifty.
