"Only Tests will be left then" - Aakash Chopra on whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could retire from ODIs after 2025 Champions Trophy
Former India player Aakash Chopra has expressed uncertainty about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli potentially retiring from ODIs after the 2025 Champions Trophy. He pointed out that the duo would be left with only Test cricket at the international level if they go that route.
India will take on New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. While Rohit scored 28 runs off 29 deliveries, Kohli (84 off 98) played a game-defining knock in the Men in Blue's four-wicket semi-final win against Australia at the same venue on Tuesday, March 4.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the cricketer-turned-analyst was asked whether Rohit and Kohli would play in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"It's entirely up to them. I will be very honest, it's not going to be easy. In 2025, Kohli's performance with the bat has been outstanding and Rohit's has been okay, okay. I won't say his performance is very good. He might change the scenario by scoring a hundred in the final," he responded (6:45).
"Someone else even asked me whether they would retire. I said I don't know. Their retirement after winning the T20 World Cup seemed slightly logical and it was along the expected lines. It wasn't shocking, but here if they leave both T20Is and ODIs, only Tests will be left then. Will they go down that route? Who knows," Chopra added.
Rohit Sharma has aggregated 104 runs at an average of 26.00 in four innings in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Virat Kohli has amassed 217 runs at an average of 72.33 in his four hits ahead of the final.
"Two years is a long time" - Aakash Chopra on whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play the 2027 World Cup
![Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were devastated when India lost the 2023 ODI World Cup final. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/78f74-17413215144770-1920.jpg?w=500)
As for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the tournament is still far away.
"The World Cup is still two years away, and two years is a long time. Two years is a longer time when you are not playing the T20 format (T20Is) as well, although, to be fair, many ODIs have been kept in the coming 12 months. So they will remain involved," he said in the same video.
While opining that the duo's Test future is also slightly uncertain, the former India opener added that he wouldn't rule out the possibility of them playing the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"Even in Test cricket, it's been up and down. We don't know what will happen in England, who will go and who will not go, as we have come after losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25)," Chopra observed.
"So will we forget that totally in case we win the Champions Trophy? We don't know. Will it make a difference based on how their IPL goes? I don't know. I don't know what's there in their mind in terms of ODIs. I won't say never say never, but, for now, it's up to them," he added.
While Virat Kohli was part of India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad, Rohit Sharma has never won an ODI World Cup. The duo would want to win the 2027 ODI World Cup together, subject to them retaining their form and fitness for the next two years.