Deep Dasgupta makes a bold statement on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli regarding the ODI World Cup 2027

With less than 15 months remaining until the 2027 Cricket World Cup, the Indian team has already begun identifying its squad. It is currently difficult to predict which 15 players will board the flight to South Africa for the tournament; even the inclusion of senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remains uncertain. Under Shubman Gill's captaincy, Team India has played four ODI series so far, losing three of them and securing a victory in only one—against Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, although Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have performed well, it has been observed that both players take some time to find their rhythm in three-match series. Former cricketer Deep Dasgupta weighed in on this, stating that the Indian team cannot afford to repeatedly wait for Rohit and Virat to take two matches to settle into their rhythm. 

“That has to be a conversation with everyone, not just them (Kohli and Rohit), that they have to start the series well and hit the ground running. That is a challenge. You can't take one or two games to get into the groove. But that's where the support staff comes in and has conversations with the players by creating an environment to get the best out of everyone." 

In the recently concluded series against England, Kohli failed in the first match but went on to score two consecutive half-centuries. Similarly, after struggling in the first two matches, Rohit Sharma smashed a century in the third ODI. Rohit had faced significant scrutiny during the series, with rumours even circulating about his potential retirement.

However, Deep Dasgupta acknowledged that Rohit and Virat should be left alone, adding that there should be no doubt regarding their places in the World Cup squad.

There is no conversation needed with them about their places in the team. Four years back, it wasn't like they had to be reminded before every series that they would be in the team. They knew they would be in the team on the back of their performances. So how does that change now? It does not and should not change," said Dasgupta (via the aforementioned source). 

This discussion about their future is getting exaggerated because they play only one format. When you play multiple formats, if you fail in one but score in the other, the failure is forgotten. So that's a challenge for these two that can't be denied. People will remember what they last did in this format because they play only one format. But the conversation with them should be the same as it was three years ago." 

Team India is set to play its next ODI series against the West Indies in September-October.  Meanwhile, if the white-ball series between India and Bangladesh gets the green light, both teams could be seen in their blue jerseys in early September.