Former South Africa National Cricket Team batsman Daryll Cullinan has sent a blunt message to the India National Cricket Team batting legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on their ODI future.
Daryll Cullinan said that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma need to play a high volume of cricket to prolong their ODI careers, as greatness doesn’t guarantee a place in the Indian team.
They’d have to be on the ground of international cricket – Daryll Cullinan on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli and Rohit are unarguably two of the all-time greats, and the duo have showcased amazing performances across all three formats of the game.
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They announced their T20I retirements together after winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and said goodbye to Test cricket in May 2025. Currently, they are only active in ODI cricket at the international level.
Kohli and Rohit are most likely looking to extend their careers as single-format players and feature in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. However, Daryll Cullinan said that the Indian batters will need to play a lot of competitive cricket to stay fit for ODI cricket.
“Well, I think from an ability and experience point of view, they could play, I don’t think there’s any doubt in that, but they’d have to be on the ground of international cricket.
“If I were the coach or convener of selectors, because no matter how good you are, thinking that you can just play a few games or select a few games, not put in the hours and then step in and think you’re going to perform, no, that doesn’t work that way,” he told Hindustan Times.
I’m not saying they need to be on the circuit all the time – Daryll Cullinan
Cullinan further clarified that he isn’t asking Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to be “on the circuit all the time” but highlighted the importance of playing “a serious amount of cricket” to give themselves a shot at playing the 2027 World Cup.
“So it’s a bit of a catch-22, I’m not saying they need to be on the circuit all the time, but they need to have played a serious amount of cricket, especially going into the World Cup, so they’re in the right physical, mental frame of mind, the grind of international cricket, being fit, then I would say yes, but anything less than that I’d say no, India move on, because that certainly doesn’t work, and that’s in my view,” said Cullinan.
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“They need to be playing quality cricket for the next two years! Far more cricket than less cricket,” he added.
In India’s international cricket calendar, very few ODI matches are scheduled till 2027, and this makes things tough for the veteran batters.
Yes, Gill for captaincy, irrespective of whether Rohit is playing – Daryll Cullinan
Daryll Cullinan further urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hand India ODI captaincy to Shubman Gill and play Rohit Sharma solely as a batsman.
“Yes, Gill for captaincy, irrespective of whether Rohit is playing,” said Cullinan.
Notably, a few reports have claimed that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could end their ODI careers after the upcoming three-match series in Australia.
