Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s fitness and performances will be taken into consideration ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup 2027 and not their age, BCCI president Mithun Manhas has said ahead of the upcoming tour of New Zealand.

Speaking to Sportstar, Manhas mentioned the selection in the squad would depend on the two senior batters’ run-scoring spree. The global tournament would be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November next year.

Rohit and Kohli have retired from T20Is and Test cricket, but the two veterans are targeting the ICC event, considering it is their last chance to lift the trophy.

“From my perspective, the players should be judged on the basis of their performances and fitness and not the age. If someone is fit, performing and winning matches for the nation, that should be the only criteria,” he said.

Rohit will be 40 in April 2027, while Virat Kohli will turn 38 during the course of the World Cup. The former cricketers have been questioning the decision-makers about the transition plans and the roles of the two players.

When Ajit Agarkar was the chief selector, the committee led by him focused on the transition after Virat, Rohit and Jadeja quit the T20I format following India’s win in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rohit and Virat then announced retirement from Test cricket last year.

There was speculation about Rohit’s ODI career, with reports mentioning that the Lord’s ODI could be his last, but the right-handed batter scored a remarkable century to end all the rumours. On the other hand, Virat has been scoring runs since last year, and he is also leading the batting charts against big rivals.

Manhas feels the presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could help the ODI captain Shubman Gill, drawing parallels to how MS Dhoni was mentored by Sourav Ganguly and Virat learnt under Dhoni’s guidance.

“Shubman Gill is leading the Gujarat Titans in the IPL apart from leading India in international cricket. I think his experience will be handy in the World Cup campaign. The likes of Virat, Rohit and Hardik Pandya would help Gill. Jasprit Bumrah would be the bowling captain, while someone else has to lead the fielding department.

It is about managing and distributing the workload, and it will be interesting to see how things unfold. Shubman is a mature guy, and I think having the senior players around will be an advantage for him,” he added.

India will play five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests in New Zealand, with the first match scheduled to be played on October 22.