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New Delhi: The Men in Blue is all set to kick off their 2026 campaign with a home white-ball series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start with a three-match ODI seris that will see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli don the India jersey once again.
Speaking on Follow The Blues, cricket experts Irfan Pathan and Varun Aaron highlighted the need for more ODIs and tri-series, underlined the importance of prolonging Rohit and Kohli’s ODI careers, and spoke about the rising expectations surrounding new captain Shubman Gill.
“You definitely want to think about the ICC 2027 ODI World Cup. It is far away, but I just want to see both Rohit and Kohli playing for the longest time, for India and when not playing international cricket, in domestic cricket. They are playing just one format and nothing else, so the more they play, the better it is.”
The star all-rounder further reflected on the challenges that Shubman Gill might face as captain of the ODI and Test team, “When I was picked for the first time, at 19 years of age, the great Rahul Dravid said, “Irfan, it’s good that you have reached this level, but things will only get difficult from here on.” Upon asking him, What should I do if things do get difficult? He replied, “You will get used to handling it…” and the same will happen with Shubman Gill. One good thing that happened on the England tour for Shubman was that his Test average improved, and his authority over the team also increased. Now he also has the responsibility in ODIs and it is a huge opportunity for him to grow.”
The 41-year-old also opened up abut Shubman Gill being compared to Virat Kohli, “He is immensely talented, there is no question about that, and comparisons are inevitable. Virat Kohli was constantly compared to Sachin Tendulkar and was expected to perform at that level. Now that Kohli has reached those heights, Gill is being compared to him. There’s expectations that he must match those standards and score close to 25,000–30,000 runs and he certainly has the ability to do so.”
Speaking on ‘Follow The Blues’, Varun Aaron described Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as “box office” stars who attract massive crowds and television viewership.
“It was a box-office series against South Africa, when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were both in form and even in Australia. India would be looking to have way more series than we are having because the crowds they’re pulling in, the viewership they’re bringing in, these two guys are box office.”
Varun Aron on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s performances in ODIs, and the view that they should continue playing for as long as they wish, “At the end of the day, you want Rohit and Virat to play as much as possible. A lot of people are upset that they’re not playing Test and T20s but the way they’re playing in the ODIs is phenomenal. Rohit Sharma has reinvented himself fitness-wise and Virat Kohli has taken it up a few notches ever since that last one-day in Australia. It just shows that age is a number and it’s mind over matter for them.”
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