• Source:JND
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Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are set to be in action after a long wait as they are part of the Indian team for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, which begins on October 19 in Perth. Both India and Australia will face off in a three-match ODI series followed by five T20I matches.

While there has been a huge talk regarding Virat and Rohit's ODI future, the BCCI vice-president turned down the speculations of the upcoming series in Australia being the last for the veteran batters. Shukla said Kohli and Rohit’s presence will 'benefit' the team and help them beat Australia, adding that retirement would always be the players' call, and not the board’s.

Kohli and Rohit have already retired from Tests and T20Is, but both senior players have set their eyes on the ODI World Cup 2027. However, a final call on that is yet to be taken. India recently demoted Rohit from captaincy, promoting 26-year-old Shubman Gill to give him around two years to prepare the team in his vision. Since then, reports have suggested that the selectors won’t look at Kohli and Rohit’s records anymore, picking them for future series only based on ‘merit’.

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"They are great batsmen. We will succeed in defeating Australia with them in the team. It is absolutely wrong to say that this is their last ODI series. It depends on the players as to when they have to retire," Shukla said after India’s 2-0 series win against West Indies.

Notably, Virat and Rohit have not played any competitive cricket for the past several months, having last been in action during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which India won in the UAE.

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With not many ODI matches scheduled for the next year-and-a-half, Kohli and Rohit are expected to return to domestic List-A cricket, starting with the Vijay Hazare Trophy, from the upcoming season in order to get some game time.


Gill wants RO-KO to unleash their magic

Indian captain Shubman Gill was also asked about Virat and Rohit's future in the ODI format, and the youngster batted for the duo to come up with their magic in Australia.

"Expectations, I mean, they are someone who have won so many matches for us in the past and they have been playing for 10-15 years. They have won matches with the experience they bring to the table. It is something that every captain and every team wants. That’s what we are looking forward to, just want them to go out there and do their thing. Do their magic," Gill said on JioHotstar.