Sword Hangs over Ro-Ko

The sword of Damocles is still hanging over the batting star duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, acronymed Ro-Ko. Despite the duo getting their form back and scoring respectable runs in the last of the India-Australia ODI series recently, their selection for the 2027 ODI World hangs in the balance.

 A section in the BCCI is against them. Kohli is under so much pressure that for the first time in his illustrious career he scored a pair of consecutive ducks in Perth and Adelaide ODIs. Finally, he got his act together in the final ODI in Sydney with a masterly unbeaten knock of 74 to silence the Doubting Thomases. On his part, Rohit Sharma ‘ensured redemption’ with scores of 73 and 121 in the last two matches.

Despite the fact that the duo were the leading scorers in the series, things are far from normal for them. First Draft has learnt that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were under a lot of scrutiny as a section of the BCCI and team management are against them as they strongly feel the duo don’t deserve a place in the 2027 ODI World Cup. 

What are the reasons for Rohit and Virat to worry about their future? First and foremost, the fact that Shubman Gill replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the ODI team was a loud message to the two veterans that their time has come to hang their boots.

“To me, the BCCI’s decision on October 4 to name Gill as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma could not have been a louder and clearer signal to both Virat and Rohit that the BCCI was clearly looking beyond them for the 2027 World Cup. The BCCI was very clear about one thing—that Gill had to settle in for the slot as captain for the next year’s World Cup and that he had to be captain for the next 5 ODI bilateral series. This also meant that scoring runs was the only mantra for the two veterans to retain their place in the squad,” says Akash Lal, a former BCCI selector.   

Akash, one of the three selectors who chose Sachin Tendulkar for his debut test match, feels that in the ODI series against Australia, Rohit and Virat were the leading scorers for Team India. “Yet for some strange reason they seem to be under the scanner all the time. Normally, when one scores, he is supposedly safe. But in this case, despite Rohit and Virat ending up as the highest scorers we are having a discussion as to whether they would play in next year’s World Cup. That in itself shows how things are loaded against them,” he added.

Another big negative which works against the duo is their age. “While Rohit is 38, Virat is 36. The BCCI led by the head coach Gautam Gambhir is clearly of the view that the future of Team India lies with the youngsters. He is quite clear that superstars are expendable and that past records mean nothing. In such an atmosphere, the likes of Virat and Rohit have to perform every time they go out to bat, if they are under immense pressure to come up with good scores, at back of their mind they very well know that things are against them and they cannot afford to slip even a bit,” says Rajinder Amarnath, a former Test cricketer.

Another worrying factor for Virat and Rohit is the fact that Team India plays few matches in the ODI format. Just to drive home the point, between 2025 October and 2027 (when the World Cup starts), India has just 5 ODI series. The direct fallout of this is that there are only 18 to 20 matches for the next two years.

 “This means that Rohit and Virat will be under extra pressure for they will have to ensure that they score well in each and every one of the limited matches in order to stay in contention for the World Cup. With the commencement of the bilateral series with South Africa beginning in India from November 30, each and every of the 18 matches will be a do or die effort for them,” said Rajinder Amarnath.

To top it all, the fact that chief coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar are not backing the duo is worrisome for them. In fact, Gambhir has time and again said that previous records of a player hold no water. Recently, when he was asked about Virat and Rohit’s chances of playing in next year’s World Cup after India defeated West Indies in two Test series at home he said: “The 50-over World Cup is still two and a half years away. It is very important to stay in the present. Obviously, they are quality players.”. Those words aptly sum up the fate of the duo in the World Cup.