India’s cricketing giants, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, are set to don the national colours once again as they return for the three-match ODI series against Australia, beginning on October 19. This will be the first time the duo takes the field for India since the Champions Trophy 2025 final in March. With both Kohli and Rohit having stepped away from leadership roles and now playing only in the 50-over format, questions around their future in international cricket are louder than ever. Their return comes at a crucial juncture—not just for the series against Australia, but for what it could signal about India’s long-term planning leading up to the 2027 ODI World Cup. Notably, Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as India's ODI captain.

“It depends to a great extent on the number of one-day matches that India plays over the next couple of years. Look, it’s not easy to be playing just seven or eight ODIs in a season while preparing for something as big as a World Cup. For those eight white-ball matches, there are probably five T20s and three ODIs. That is not giving much in terms of exposure or practice for players who are approaching the latter stages of their careers,” said Gavaskar on India Today.

“They will have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy in India whenever it’s scheduled, if it doesn’t clash with any international ODI tournaments. That’s one way to stay in trim and maintain match practice,” he said.

Gavaskar further said that Rohit and Kohli made themselves available because it was a series against Australia, against whom India suffered a heartbreaking loss at the final of the 2023.

“I’m pretty certain that if this were a trip to Zimbabwe or the West Indies, both of them would not have been available. But because this is in Australia, and because India lost to Australia in the World Cup final, maybe that is the reason why both of them have decided, yes, I want to be available for this," he said.