• Source:JND
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Former India opener turned commentator Aakash Chopra has termed the rhetoric around Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), in order to boost their chances for 2027 World Cup, as 'bogus talk'. Notably, both stalwarts of Indian Cricket have announced retirement from Tests and T20Is. However, both of them have displayed their 'desire' to play the ODI World Cup in South Africa and Namibia. However, the duo faces a stiff task in maintaining their form and fitness until then.

Amidst all this, there have been some reports which claimed that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma need to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy to enhance their chances.

Also Read: Rohit, Virat retired from wrong format, says Chopra

Reacting to this report, Chopra said - "The chatter about playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy — the tournament will happen in November–December. What's the point? There are nine ODIs for India till the next IPL (3 vs Australia in October, 3 vs South Africa in November, and 3 against New Zealand in January 2026). That's about it — just nine days of cricket action for you. That would be over 100 days since you played an IPL match and the next ODI you play. You're not playing at all. You're not practising.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli don't have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy — they wouldn't be selected based on their performance in the tournament, let's be honest about this. It's bogus talk. If they had played Tests and left ODIs, staying in the groove would have been easier.

When you have retired from Tests, and ODI cricket is not played much, it is not going to make a lot of sense. So just two months of high-intensity IPL, where you would get to play 14 to 16 innings, and then you would play three matches after six months, and then three matches after another three months — I think it is very, very difficult."

Also Read: Rohit would have been dropped if not the captain in Australia, claims Pathan

Virat and Rohit are two of the finest ODI players produced by India, with Virat having made 14,181 runs in 302 matches and 290 innings at an average of 57.88, with 51 centuries and 74 fifties. His best score is 183.

On the other hand, Rohit has scored 11,168 runs in 272 matches and 265 innings at an average of 48.76, with 32 centuries and 59 fifties and a best score of 264.

Inputs from ANI