New Delhi [India], October 14 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla dismissed speculation that the upcoming ODI series against Australia would mark the final international appearance of batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, stating that the decision to retire lies solely with the players.
Shukla was speaking toafter India secured a series win over West Indies by beating the visitors by seven wickets in the second Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium. While Rohit and Virat have been selected for Australia tour keeping the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 in the mind, the promotion of Shubman Gill to ODI captaincy and presence/success of players like Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Tilak Varma in the recent India A series against Australia at home have raised eyebrows over the future of 'Ro-Ko', who would be 40 and 39 respectively when the tournament comes in 2027.
He said, "This is very beneficial for us (Rohit and Virat being in the ODI squad). Because both of them are great batsmen, and in the presence of both of them, I think we will be successful in defeating Australia."
"And as far as this being their last series is concerned, it is nothing like that. We should never go into these things. It is upto the players when they would retire. To say this would be their last series is absolutely wrong," Shukla added.
Rohit is India's fourth-highest run-getter in ODIs, with 11,168 runs in 273 matches and 268 innings, averaging 48.76, including 32 centuries, 58 fifties, and a best score of 264. This year in eight ODIs, Rohit has scored 302 runs at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 108.24, with a century and fifty each and a best score of 119.
Virat, on the other hand, is India's second-highest run-getter in ODIs, with 14,181 runs in 302 matches and 290 innings at an average of 57.88, a strike rate of over 93, with 51 centuries and 74 fifties. His best score is 183. In seven ODIs this year, the superstar has made 275 runs in seven innings at an average of 45.83, with a century and two fifties to his name and a best score of 100*.
Both will be in action during the ODIs in Australia, starting from October 19, having retired from Tests and T20Is and now being exclusively ODI players.
Shukla also hailed the Shubman Gill-led unit for their series win against the Windies, marking their comeback to form at home after a rare whitewash series loss in 12 years against New Zealand by 0-3 last year. He also expressed optimism about India's chances of winning the series in Australia.
"I want to congratulate Team India on winning the West Indies Series under the leadership of Shubman Gill. This was very important before going to Australia because there is always strong competition in Australia. Their team is also very good. So, playing the West Indies before that is going to make a big difference. And definitely we will win in Australia. I have full hope for that," he concluded.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. After the fall of KL Rahul (38 in 54 balls, with five fours and a six), Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a 193-run stand with Sai Sudharsan (87 in 165 balls, 12 fours) and a 74-run stand with skipper Shubman Gill before being run out for 258-ball 175, with 22 fours. Gill continued his golden run in Tests, bringing his fifth ton of the year (129* in 196 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes) and had partnerships with Nitish Kumar Reddy (43 in 54 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (44* in 79 balls, with five fours), taking India to 518/5 declared.
Jomel Warrican (3/98) was the pick of the bowlers for WI.
In their first innings, WI was skittled out for 248 runs as top-order knocks from Tagenarine Chanderpaul (34 in 67 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Alick Athaneze (41 in 84 balls, with five fours and a six) and Shai Hope (36 in 57 balls, with five fours) were barely starts which could not be the milestones.
Kuldeep Yadav (5/82) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/46) troubled WI with their spin on a slow track.
Forced to follow on, WI was once again down at 35/2, but a 177-run stand between John Campbell (115 in 199 balls, with 12 fours and three sixes) and Hope (103 in 214 balls with 12 fours and two sixes) helped WI fight back well. A fine 40 in 72 balls from skipper Roston Chase and a remarkable 10th wicket stand of 79 runs between Justin Greaves (50 in 85 balls, with three fours) and Jayden Seales (32 in 67 balls, with a four and six) frustrated India, as WI was bundled out for 390 and took a 120-run lead. Kuldeep and Bumrah, with their three wickets, topped the wicket charts.
In the run chase of 121, India lost Yashasvi early for 8, while KL and Sai Sudharsan (39 in 76 balls, with five fours) had a 79-run stand. Skipper Gill was also dismissed cheaply, but KL's unbeaten 58* in 108 balls, with six fours and two sixes, anchored the innings and took India home with seven wickets in hand.
Kuldeep's eight wickets earned him the 'Player of the Match' award, while Jadeja's century in Ahmedabad and total of eight wickets in the series secured him his third 'Player of the Series' trophy, as India won the series 2-0.
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