If they want to play World Cup 2027, Rohit and Kohli must play domestic cricket: Irfan Pathan

Published - 06 Oct 2025, 16:25 IST | Updated - 06 Oct 2025, 16:25 IST

Shubman Gill’s elevation as India’s ODI captain and Rohit Sharma’s removal from the role have sparked debates about the future of Rohit and Virat Kohli in international cricket. Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan believes that both senior players will need to feature regularly in domestic cricket to keep their hopes alive of representing India in the 2027 ODI World Cup.

On Saturday, October 4, India announced their squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia, with both Rohit and Kohli included. The two stalwarts will return to professional cricket for the first time since the IPL 2025 concluded in May. However, Pathan cautioned that long breaks from competitive cricket cannot become a regular occurrence if they intend to continue playing at the highest level until the next World Cup in South Africa in 2027.

“Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) want to play the 2027 World Cup, but game fitness will be a big challenge for them. Rohit has worked well on his fitness. He is focused on that. But there is regular fitness, and game time fitness… If you are not playing regular cricket, both of them have to ensure some game time. They have to play domestic cricket,” said Pathan on his YouTube Channel.

“They are big players and know what to do. They have all the experience in the world. But they are not even playing T20Is, so there will be big gaps between the few matches that they play before the big World Cup. They will need regular game time to be fit for that. Only then will their dream to play the 2027 World Cup come true,” he added.

Right call: Ex-South African skipper backs Gill as captain

Pathan also praised the 25-year-old for his appointment as India’s ODI captain but warned that significant pressure will be on his shoulders to carry forward the legacy of the two stalwart captains who preceded him.

“There is a leadership change, Gill will lead in both formats now. This is a big opportunity but a huge responsibility too. He has to take forward Virat’s legacy in Test cricket and Rohit’s legacy in white-ball cricket. This is a challenging but exciting phase for him as he is already batting well, he will need to keep that form going,” Pathan concluded.