New Delhi, Oct 21 India legend Ravi Shastri and Australian great Ricky Ponting have shared their thoughts on whether they think the Indian batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain on track to feature at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2027 and said "only time will tell" whether the duo will still be around.
Rohit and Kohli, who have retired from Tests and T20Is within the last 18 months, and the 50-over cricket remains the only format they feature. The veteran duo played their first international fixture since the ICC Champions Trophy at the start of March when they contributed modest returns with the bat against Australia in Perth on Sunday.
When you come back from a long layoff, you are obviously going to be rusty," Shastri said on The ICC Review.
"It's not easy for any overseas team to land in Australia, say, two days prior to a game in Perth and adjust to those conditions straight away, especially when you have that extra bounce and against quality fast bowlers.
"But I think only time will tell. They'll go to Adelaide, they have some time off to get into the nets, get their minds sorted and get back into action,"
"So I'm in no hurry to judge, but it's when you come back at that age, after some time, it's about how much you're enjoying the sport and how much hunger is there and passion is left in you to play the game.
"So if you tick the boxes in two out of those three, especially the enjoyment part of it, then you can give them both time because they've got class, they've got experience and a little bit of time will sort things out. But I'd rather wait than jump and judge immediately," he said.
Ponting echoed the sentiments of Shastri and believes Kohli in particular will be targeting some short-term goals during the Australian tour that will help him decide whether to keep playing on.
"The one thing I don't like hearing from anyone is that 'I've achieved everything in the game’ because I think you still have to have some really short-term goals and not just be hanging on to try and get through to the 2027 World Cup,” Ponting said.
"Virat's always been a highly motivated person. And I'd like to think that he's probably sat down and even just given himself some goals and things that he can achieve in this series here in Australia and not be just waiting and killing time for that next World Cup to come around.
"What we know with both of those guys, at their absolute best, yes, of course they're in India's best team. But can they find their best between now and when that World Cup rocks around?
"And that's only an answer that, like Ravi said, that we'll find out in a short period of time. They will get some really good batting wickets coming up over the next few weeks here in Australia. There's not many places that are better to go and bat in a one-day game than Adelaide Oval, which is coming up in a couple of days," he said.
Ponting thinks it will only be a matter of time before Rohit and Kohli are among the runs again and that could come as soon as the next ODI against Australia in Adelaide.
"Finding your rhythm and tempo is the biggest thing. When you've had a break, just getting back used to the rhythm and the tempo of the 50-over game again, it takes a little bit of time for anybody," Ponting said.
"I'd expect to see both those guys bounce back into it pretty quickly. As I said, Adelaide is a great place to bat and a great place to play cricket. But it won't be easy for the fact that they are facing some of the best white-ball bowlers that have ever played the game. So, the challenge is definitely there.
"But I say it all the time, you don't write off champion players ever. And these two guys have been two of the best, and while I'm on record saying I think Virat's the best 50-over player I've ever seen, you don't write them off.
"They'll find a way to contribute and win games for their team, and if they do that, then they'll most likely be in that World Cup team in 2027," he added.
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