12 June,2026 09:46 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (Pic: File Pic)
The ODI World Cup 2027, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, is several months away. However, there have been a lot of speculations over the availability of Team India's star batting duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Speaking on JioStar, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan explained the importance of having Rohit and Kohli in India's squad for the global tournament.
Expressing his views on Rohit, the former cricketer said that the right-handed batsman's strength is to punish short-pitched deliveries.
"Rohit Sharma's biggest strength is his ability to handle short-pitched bowling. He has exceptional timing and gets into position early. In South Africa, where bowlers get both swing and extra bounce, Rohit is the ideal batter to punish anything short," said Pathan.
He also heaped praise on Kohli, stating that the Delhi-born cricketer is the best player in the world when put to chase during the match.
"Coming to Virat Kohli, he brings immense experience to the middle order. In ODIs, no one does it better than him. Batting at number three, his records speak for themselves. If India lose an early wicket, he is the man to rebuild the innings. He loves batting long, and when it comes to chasing, he is the best in the world. India will need both these qualities of Rohit and Virat if they are to win the World Cup in South Africa," said the 41-year-old former cricketer.
Currently, the Shubman Gill-led Team India will clash against Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series. Rohit will be seen in action, whereas Kohli was earlier ruled out of the entire series due to an injury.
The first game between both teams will be played on Saturday at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
The second game between the teams will be held on Wednesday, June 17 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow, and the third game on Saturday, June 20 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (C), Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harsh Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah, Fareed Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Abdul Rasooli, Nangeyalia Kahrote, Qais Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Bilal Sami, Mohammad Saleem, Allah Ghazanfar, Bashir Ahmad.
