Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bid farewell to the Australian crowd with a brilliant performance on Saturday, October 25. Playing at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the duo added an unbeaten 168-run partnership to help India finish the ODI series on a high.
The two former Indian captains, who returned to international cricket after seven months, looked sublime as they guided the visitors to a comfortable chase of 237 runs with nine wickets in hand. But for now, he will step back from the public eye as India take on Australia in a five-match T20I series in the build-up to the World Cup, which is scheduled to be held between February and March next year.
After completing the tour of Australia, the question arises – what lies ahead for Virat and Rohit? Both showed immense hunger for runs in the final of the ODI series. Rohit actually looked the smoother of the two, belting out a half-century in the second match in Adelaide before scoring a blistering hundred to sign off the Australian leg of his career in style.
AUS vs IND, 3rd ODI: Highlighting | Scorecard
Virat, on the other hand, struggled in the first two matches but returned to his best in the Sydney game. The pair, who were out of international cricket for seven months before this series, now have quite a busy schedule.
Here’s what fans can look forward to seeing Rohit and Virat back in international action:
India vs. South Africa: 3 ODIs
- November 30: Ranchi
- December 3: Raipur
- December 6: Vizag
India vs. New Zealand: 3 ODIs
- January 11: Vadodara
- January 14: Rajkot
- January 18: Indore
India vs. England: 3 ODIs
- July 14: Birmingham
- July 16: Cardiff
- July 19: Lord
Apart from the international matches, Rohit and Virat could also feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is scheduled to be held in December and January. However, as the semi-finals and final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy overlap with New Zealand’s tour of India, both may opt to participate in group stage matches only.
Several cricket experts have suggested that both players should attend domestic games to stay in rhythm during the long breaks in international cricket. With the duo already retired from two formats, they now have the flexibility to play more domestic cricket than they used to.
“If you need their services, you have to find a way. For example, the India ‘A’ series happened, so you have to ask them to play that series because there’s not much 50-over cricket. They should have said, if you don’t play the series, I don’t think you fit into the schedule,” suggested Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
“If not in this series, then they have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy because that will let us know what form you are in,” he added.
Reports from the Indian Cricket Board suggest that the pair will play a couple of matches in the domestic competition this season.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
October 26, 2025
