Will Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli Play in The Next ODI World Cup After T20I Retirement?

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Indian stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli signed off from their T20I careers in style as the duo went on to lift the T20 World Cup following a 7-run victory over South Africa in the 2024 final in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday (June 29).

After Kohli (76 off 59 balls) and Axar Patel (47 off 31 balls) complemented by Shivam Dube's came of 27 off 16 balls powered India to 176/7, excellent death bowling led by the master Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 18 in 4 overs) helped restrict South Africa to 169/8.

Moments after ending a long-wait for a T20 World Cup title, Kohli announced that this was his last T20 World Cup and also the last T20 he would be playing for India.

"This was my last T20 World Cup, this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. One day you feel like you cannot get a run and this happens, God is great. Just the occasion, now or never kind of situation," Kohli said after the match.

"This was my last T20 game playing for India. We wanted to lift that cup. Not something that I was not going to announce even if we had lost. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward."

Captain Rohit also bid farewell to the T20 format after lifting the T20 World Cup trophy. With the retirement from the T20 format, Rohit also said the final goodbye to the captaincy spot that he held for more than two years.

"This was my last game as well," the captain said in his post-match press conference, referring to Virat Kohli's earlier announcement that he will be retiring from T20Is.

"I've enjoyed it since the time I started playing this format. No better time to say goodbye to this format. I've loved every moment of this. This is what I wanted - I wanted to win the cup," and he saluted the room, to applause from the media.

After their T20I retirement, now the question is whether the duo will feature in the next ODI World Cup for India with the show-piece tournament scheduled to take place in three years time.

Will Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli play in the next ODI World Cup?

Both Rohit and Kohli only announced their retirement from the shortest format on the international stage. So, they will continue playing in ODIs and Tests. But if they will continue playing until the next ODI World Cup is a mystery keeping their age in mind.

While both remain fit and may maintain their fitness in the next three years, they would also be three years older when the next ODI World Cup takes place in 2027. Rohit will be 40, while Kohli will also be nearing that age when the next 50-over World Cup arrives.

The duo may be tempted to sign off from their ODI career also in a similar style as the T20I careers. So, they may be keen to win the ODI World Cup. Had they managed to do it in 2023, Rohit and Kohli may have also retired from ODIs and prolonged their Test careers.

As it stands, the two veterans have only retired from T20 internationals. And with the next ODI World Cup still far away, it's still very early to talk about their future in the 50-over format.