The writing is on the wall: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will soon be former players.
It is likely to be only a matter of months before the two former captains will have to give up the only format they so dearly clung on to as the proverbial last straw in their distinguished careers.
The national selection committee’s decision to remove Rohit from the ODI captaincy has sent across a stern message to perform or perish and practically put them on notice.
As the selectors chalk out the roadmap for the 2027 World Cup, it will be tough for both the stalwarts to look beyond the three ODIs in Australia. India will then play three more matches against South Africa in November-December and as many versus New Zealand in January.
Not many believe that they can perform at their best after more than seven months of hiatus from competitive cricket. Sources in the BCCI suggest that Rohit, who would be 40 when the quadrennial showpiece event gets underway in South Africa, was never in the selectors’ shortlist.
The plan to put Shubman Gill in charge of the ODI side had been devised much earlier and the new Test captain’s success in England only helped the selectors and the team management’s cause. The blueprint, devised by Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir, was kept a closely guarded secret and got the approval of the power-wielders in the Board.
There is talk that Rohit had been informed about the decision some time ago and not on Saturday. The chief selector didn’t wish to reveal the time of his dialogue with Rohit. How Rohit reacted to the selectors’ choice is open to speculation.
The same logic applies to Virat Kohli, who would be 39 by the time the World Cup starts.
Agarkar said as much during the news conference in Ahmedabad on Saturday pointing to the lack of game time for them in the 50-over format. India themselves haven’t played an ODI since the Champions Trophy final on March 9.
“They will perhaps find it a little bit alien just to play only one format, and the one which is played the least,” said Agarkar. “We’ll find out a bit more when we see them playing in Australia.
“Obviously, at some stage, you have got to start looking at where the next World Cup is, it’s also a format which is played the least now, so you don’t get that many games to actually give the next guy or if there is going to be another guy that much time to prepare himself or plan,” Agarkar said.
“We are still two years away, it might look like a long time, but we don’t quite know how many one-day games we might play (and yet) closer to the World Cup we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have... it is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket at the moment.”
India’s bench strength has also allowed the selectors to make the tough calls. Yashasvi Jaiswal is still waiting in the wings, while the Asia Cup has proved that Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma are ready to take the plunge in the 50-over format.
“Abhishek has been amazing in the six-over Powerplay in T20s. Imagine if he gets 10 and survives through that phase! He can better Rohit and give the innings a head start,” said someone in the know of things.
It is, however, still unknown how much success they can achieve against two new balls compared to the one in the shortest format.
Dealing with the pressure in the middle-overs in ODIs will be crucial and perhaps that’s why Agarkar spoke of giving “the next guy enough time to plan with whatever games that we have coming (up).”
There is no doubt that Agarkar and Gambhir have been baying for fresh legs in this format too and neither past record nor reputation will count when it comes to sealing places in the playing XI.
It is inevitable that Rohit and Kohli will no longer shape the direction of Indian cricket and the new crop will step up in the next few months. They need the opportunities to fill into their big shoes.
Will the twin home series against South Africa and New Zealand be the swansong for Rohit and Kohli? Will they be keen to prove their hunger for runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to stay relevant in terms of exposure to the format?
Perhaps their motivation and intent in Australia will decide their fate.