Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to retire from ODIs? Sunil Gavaskar drops bombshell statement ahead of Australia ODIs

subhradeep-choudhury — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:16:47 GMT

Sunil Gavaskar drops bombshell statement on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's potential retirement.

The BCCI has announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia down under, as they also revealed Shubman Gill as their new leader, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being picked only as players. The series will begin on October 19 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

The former leader, Sunil Gavaskar, during a recent interaction on Sports Tak, revealed that the fans should be prepared for more bad news regarding Kohli and Rohit, both of whom have already hung up their shoes from the shortest and longest formats of the game in a span of 10 months.

“Of course. If you (Rohit Sharma) are non-committal, if you can’t say whether you’ll be ready for the next two years, be ready [for more bad news]. Even if they are aware that if they only have to play ODI, there are rarely any. For that, they need to practice more and play something like the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This is possibly why they have taken that stance.” Gavaskar expressed on Sports Tak.

Sunil Gavaskar fears probable retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma post Australia ODIs

Gavaskar has credited Rohit’s leadership, but has also asked to show support to the young captain, Gill, who also got the leadership in the longest format ahead of the five-match Test series against England in the United Kingdom.

“We don’t know whether Rohit will be ready for the 2027 World Cup. He only plays ODIs now, and if we see the international calendar, the Indian team isn’t playing too many ODIs. Bilateral tours mostly include Tests and T20Is. If he only plays 5-7 ODIs in a year, he won’t get that kind of practice, which you need for a big tournament like a World Cup.” The Mumbai-born addressed during the interaction.

“Personally, he has done a lot – won us the Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup before that. There’s no two ways about his captaincy. But even he (Rohit Sharma) agrees with this decision because if you need to think two years ahead, then a young captain needs to be prepared.” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.