"I believe we are seeing them for the last time in T20Is" - Wasim Jaffer on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli amidst T20 World Cup
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer believes Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will not be playing international cricket in the shortest format after the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup. The two veteran batters made their T20I comebacks ahead of the World Cup earlier this year after the semifinal loss to England in the previous edition of the tournament.
While Jaffer reckons that the two Indian stars will continue to feature in the IPL, he feels the youngsters will get the opportunities going ahead in T20Is. Rohit and Virat have been opening for India in the T20 World Cup 2024 and they have had partnerships of 22, 12, 0, 11 & 39 so far.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Wasim Jaffer had to say about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli:
"I think they both (Virat and Rohit) will retire from T20Is after the T20 World Cup. It is their call eventually and also the call of the selectors. While they will continue to play in the IPL, I believe we are seeing them for the last time in T20Is at the T20 World Cup."
Rohit Sharma is already 37 and Team India may soon have to start planning about the captaincy transition, especially in the Test format. Wasim Jaffer believes Kohli will not take the captaincy back and feels the selectors will look elsewhere too with options like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah available.
Virat Kohli will score a hundred international hundreds: Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer also made a bold statement when he claimed that Kohli would go on to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of a hundred international hundreds. Jaffer opined that Kohli's supreme fitness and the hunger to consistently score big runs would help him achieve the landmark.
On this, he stated:
"Yes, I think Virat Kohli will score hundred international hundreds. He has a lot of time left and the way his fitness is and the way he scores his runs with consistency, I hundred percent expect him to cross hundred hundreds."
Virat Kohli is currently 35 and has 80 international hundreds already to his name, with the latest coming against New Zealand in the semifinal of the 2023 World Cup.