Harbhajan Singh feels that Virat Kohli can stretch his international career for five more years, considering his elite fitness levels. However, the former off-spinner reckons the ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma can go strong for a couple of more years.
This means that, according to Harbhajan, Kohli can feature in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, but ODI skipper Rohit cannot.
Harbhajan’s opinion is justifiable: Kohli is 35 while Rohit is 37, and the former seems much fitter than the latter. However, their form since the T20 World Cup 2024 has been contrasting.
While Rohit smoked runs during the T20 World Cup and the ODIs in Sri Lanka, Kohli struggled throughout these series barring the final against South Africa; there, too, he was slow to reach his fifty before managing to accelerate, and India escaped by seven runs courtesy of the pacers.
Harbhajan Singh hailed Kohli for his incredible fitness, because of which he has rarely missed matches due to injury over the past dozen years.
Speaking with PTI, Harbhajan said, “Rohit can easily play for two more years. You never know with Virat Kohli’s fitness; you can see him competing for five years. He is probably the fittest guy on the team. You ask any 19-year-old competing with Virat. Virat will beat him. He is that fit. I believe Virat and Rohit have a lot of cricket left in them, and it is entirely up to them. If they are fit enough, they are performing, and the team is winning, they should continue to play.”
If they don’t contribute, they should make way for youngsters: Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Rohit and Kohli retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup trophy in June in Barbados. Harbhajan asserted that their experience is crucial in ODI and Test cricket. However, he was also blunt in his opinion that if they are not contributing with the bat, then they should vacate their positions for youngsters.
Harbhajan added, “Red ball cricket, you really need these two guys to play a little bit more than what people are asking. You need experience in all formats, whether it’s limited-overs cricket or Test cricket. You need experienced cricketers to nurture the talent that is coming up. And if they are not contributing in any manner, whether it be fitness or number of runs, then the time has come. They should be making way for the youngsters.”
Rohit and Kohli’s next assignment is the home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand before they fly to Australia for a five-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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