- By Himanshu Badola
- Thu, 16 Oct 2025 08:15 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Virat Kohli is all set to be in action in the India jersey as he will be playing in the upcoming away ODI series against Australia, starting from October 10. The veteran batter was picked in India's 15-member squad for the three-match series.
The Shubman Gill-led side, including Virat Kohli and former skipper Rohit Sharma, left for Perth from New Delhi on Wednesday morning. The series will be played in the middle of the massive speculations regarding Virat and Rohit's ODI future. The senior batters have already retired from Test and T20I formats.
Virat, who recently became an IPL champion with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is very serious about ODI cricket and is keen to play in the 2027 edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe will co-host the next 50-over mega event in a couple of years’ time. According to former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who played with Kohli for Team India and also in the Indian Premier League for RCB, the former India captain is serious about playing in the next ODI World Cup, and he was doing training in London during his time away from the field.
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In a video shared on Instagram ahead of Kohli's much-awaited return to competitive cricket after more than four months, Karthik said, "He is keen to play the World Cup. That is number one. In London, he was training during this big layoff that he had after a long time in his life. I also know he was practising cricket easily 2-3 sessions a week."
"Now that tells you the man is serious about wanting to play this World Cup. And if he is around, there is no tension, according to me. Because he knows what it takes to perform under pressure. And he has done that time and time again. And I am very confident he will do it again," he added.
Virat's last international appearance for India was the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand. He played a key role with the bat as India went on to lift the trophy in the UAE. Karthik explained Kohli's importance in India's ODI side and said he is the most important glue in that team around which everybody else plays.
"Virat Kohli is back, and why is he so important to India’s chances in the 2027 World Cup? Let’s start with just pure stats. Since the 2023 World Cup, he has scored 1098 runs at 64.58. Now, if you just see how India have played for some time now, he is the fulcrum. He is the most important glue in that team around which everybody else plays. The likes of (Shubman) Gill, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul – they all play attacking, positive cricket because they know Virat Kohli is there to absorb pressure. In case things go wrong, he will take care of it from one end. The latest example is the Champions Trophy against Pakistan. A bit of a wobble; he was there at 31 for 1. And then if you do take the semi-finals (vs Australia) as well, 42 for 2, he was batting there again; he got India out of a precarious situation."
"Now let’s move to South Africa, the destination for that (2027) World Cup. The World Cup is going to be played in October-November. Now, having been part of SA20, I can tell you that’s the early part of their summer. So, the pitches will be slightly spicy. It will have something for the fast bowlers. It’s always hard and bouncy. Now, the last time India played in 2018 in that bilateral against South Africa, he got 558 runs in a five-match series and scored four centuries."
"The next best was Shikhar (Dhawan) at about 323. It tells you the difference. He scored 200 runs more than the next-best player in that series. He knows what it takes to handle pressure. He is a chase master," Karthik added.