"They have to play domestic cricket" - Former India all-rounder's message to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of 2027 ODI World Cup

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan advised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play domestic cricket ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. The star batters will be seen in action during the upcoming ODI series against Australia Down Under.

They were both named in India's ODI squad for the Australia tour, which was announced on Saturday, October 04. Irfan reckoned that having enough game time would be the only challenge for the two if they want to play the World Cup in 2027.

Notably, Virat and Rohit both retired from T20Is and Tests. They will only be seen playing ODIs for India. Therefore, the amount of international cricket they would play before the 2027 World Cup would be limited.

"There will only be one challenge for Rohit and Virat for the 2027 World Cup. Rohit has worked well on his fitness. He is very focused on that. But if you are not playing regular cricket, both of them have to ensure game time. They have to play domestic cricket. They are big players and know what to do. But there will be big gaps as they will only play ODIs. They will have to ensure their game time fitness in these gaps. If they overcome these challenges, which they can as well, their dream of playing the 2027 World Cup can come true," he said on his YouTube channel. (4:52)

Irfan also highlighted that Shubman Gill would face a challenging time ahead. Gill replaced Rohit as India's ODI captain. Earlier, he had replaced Rohit as the Test captain as well.

"Gill will lead in two formats now. This is a big opportunity. He has to take forward Virat's legacy in Test cricket and Rohit's legacy in ODIs. This is a challenging yet exciting phase for him as he is batting well anyway," he added. (5:59)

Gill has won three, lost two, and drawn one out of his six Tests as India captain so far. He will be leading for the first time in ODIs during the Australia tour.

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"There will be eyes on him and his performance" - Irfan Pathan on Team India pacer Harshit Rana

Pacer Harshit Rana was named in India's ODI and T20I squads for the Australia tour. Harshit being backed regularly has been questioned by many. However, Irfan Pathan reckoned that he is being backed on potential.

That said, Irfan also reflected that Harshit would have to translate his talent into performances.

"There are lot of talks of Harshit Rana being backed regularly. But he is being backed on potential. He is tall, if he works slightly hard, he can bat at number eight or nine. There will be eyes on him and his performance. The challenge will be how he converts his talent into performances," he said. (6:32)

The pacer has played five ODIs and three T20Is so far. He has picked up 10 and five wickets each in both formats, respectively.