Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Agency Pic) Quick Quiz: Since the first T20 World Cup in 2007, how many players who have only played ODI cricket have been part of a team that has won more than 50 World Cups? Answer: None. In 2027, Rohit and Kohli would like to change that in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Assuming of course they are selected.Having retired from Tests and T20Is, they now occupy a special space: giant names, dwindling playing time. That’s why this IPL matters so much. It is their most visible audition. If both are to convince the team management and the increasingly ruthless and pragmatic selection committee, they need to perform in the next eight weeks for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively.
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IPL 2026 should be an audition for India’s next T20I captain This may sound dramatic. After all, few players have achieved more. But the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup will not be paved with reputations or old highlights. It will depend on the current form and condition.The two remain in conversation, captain Shubman Gill and others suggest. The harder question is whether it will last that long.For Rohit, who turns 39 on April 30, and Kohli, now 37, this IPL is a test of fitness. Both are now single format cricketers. Both need to show that they can endure a long, high-intensity campaign and that they will be standing in 2027.However, fitness is only half the problem. Form, that fickle friend, is second. Ask any Indian cricketer what they fear most and the answer is simple: out of sight, out of mind. That is why this IPL is so important for Rohit and Kohli. He is bringing them back into the limelight after the heroics of India’s T20 World Cup triumph grabbed the public’s attention.ODIs are becoming rarer. India last played a five-match ODI series in February-March 2019. For players of one format, one bad series can mean a long wait for another chance.These gaps hurt the batsmen the most: the rhythm disappears, the sharpness of the match dulls, and every failure is final. For them, every IPL innings of substance will be seen as evidence – or lack thereof – that Rohit and Kohli are still moving well, reacting sharply and carrying the intensity that ODI cricket demands at the highest level. And unlike the IPL, the ODIs offer no shock compensation, the perfect safety valve for slow motions. A seven-hour endurance test remains.Lazy analysis made us divide Rohit and Kohli’s careers. Acronyms like the disgusting “Ro-Ko” only confirm this. However, the stakes are higher for Rohit. His ODI legacy is secure, but age and role are now at the heart of the debate, especially with the younger opening options available alongside Gill offering more sporting value in the field. Armies of fans disguised Rohit’s free release as intent. His tumultuous twenties and thirties were hailed as selflessness. But bad habits become more stubborn with age. They also bled into his Test game and hastened both a technical decline and his eventual exit from the format.This IPL, the selectors and coach Gautam Gambhir will be watching him closely. Can Rohit start with intent, produce quality pace without losing form, run hard, bowl effectively and maintain acceptable fitness over a long campaign? He has crossed 500 runs in an IPL season only once, in 2013. Another mediocre season and quiet murmurs could turn into harsh verdicts. His last three ODI scores, mind you, were 3, 11 and 24.Kohli’s case is different. He was the defining white-ball batsman of his generation and one of the finest athletic specimens in Indian sport. What he now pursues is not perfection but lasting relevance.Against South Africa and New Zealand, he showed a greater willingness to attack early, looking for boundaries inside his first 10 balls. It suggested customization. Kohli has already mastered the low-risk accumulation in ODIs; now he decorated it with consistent urgency. That matters in the IPL, where strike rate and impact make or break narratives. Kohli will want to show that he can still dominate key bowlers and keep up with the demands of the modern game. If he can combine control with carnage, his case remains strong.He has 11 IPL seasons with more than 400 runs, and while many have achieved strike rates in the mid-120s, he has risen to more than 140 in each of his last three seasons. Last year, when he batted first, his strike rate was 147.8, which is more than his chase rate of 142.18. As of 2025, his ODI strike rate is 98.45, above his career mark of 93.41. Kohli also knows that selectors judge more than numbers when senior players are trying to stretch into the next World Cup cycle. They are looking for hunger, energy and purpose.The IPL, played under relentless scrutiny and offering instant, merciless public judgement, is the perfect stage for such examinations. The league is increasingly becoming a selection filter across formats in India – sometimes, worryingly, even for Tests. For Rohit and Kohli, this season is more than just a tournament. It’s their ticket to relevance.
