By: Express News ServiceOctober 7, 2025 09:18 AM IST 3 min readThe last time Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played any form of international cricket was the final of the Champions Trophy against New Zealand on March 9. (File Photo)Former India captain and selector Dilip Vengsarkar has a question for the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel who named Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ODI team set to play a series in Australia this month. Rohit will be 40 by the time the 2027 World Cup arrives while Kohli will be 37.“… since they have not been playing Test match cricket as well as T20s, and are playing only one format, one-day matches, which is not very often played during the season, it’s very difficult to gauge their form and fitness. But since they have been picked, the selectors may have checked that, though I don’t know how,” Vengsarkar told Mid-Day.Vengsarkar also said that Shubman Gill is the best choice to lead the ODI team. “Gill is the best person to lead the side in ODIs and Test matches because he is also good in T20s.”Story continues below this ad (LEFT) India’s captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir talk during a practice session at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad; (RIGHT) File photo of Rohit Sharma at the Wankhede Stadium. (PHOTOS: AP Photo; Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)Vengsarkar said it’s now upto the selectors to take a call on Rohit and Virat, looking at future of Indian cricket. “Rohit and Virat have been great players over the years, but if you are playing just one format of the game, I believe the selectors need to take a call on this. I feel you cannot know or judge the form and fitness of such players because they’ve had a long layoff after the last game they have played. It’s very difficult to assess their form and fitness,” said Vengsarkar. “Rohit and Virat have possibly been picked because of their great records. They have been great players and have done yeomen service to Indian cricket, having won many matches in all formats of the game. But it’s really up to the selectors whether they want to stick with Rohit and Virat or look ahead and give opportunities to those players who are available for all formats of the game. It depends on how they look at Indian cricket going ahead.”Vengsarkar’s contemporary Sunil Gavaskar too had his say on the selection. “It depends to a great extent on the number of one-day matches that India plays over the next couple of years. Look, it’s not easy to be playing just seven or eight ODIs in a season while preparing for something as big as a World Cup. For those eight white-ball matches, there are probably five T20s and three ODIs. That is not giving much in terms of exposure or practice for players who are approaching the latter stages of their careers,” Gavaskar told India Today. “They will have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy in India whenever it’s scheduled, if it doesn’t clash with any international ODI tournaments. That’s one way to stay in trim and maintain match practice.”© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd