Champions Trophy set to decide Rohit, Virat’s futures in Indian team: Sources

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khelja|12-01-2025

Senior India players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's future hang in the balance and could be decided by their performance in the Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit and Kohli, both in the wrong side of the 30s had a woeful time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and were two of India's biggest underperformers in the series.

While Virat Kohli scored a century in the first Test match at Perth, Rohit Sharma failed to provide any form of resistance throughout the series. Sources have told India Today that while a decision to move on from them will not be taken now, if the duo fail in the Champions Trophy, the BCCI might be forced to take a drastic decision, bringing their careers to an unceremonious end.

The discussion on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's future happened in a special meeting arranged in Mumbai. BCCI President Roger Binny chaired the meeting following India's series loss to Australia. The board conducted a review session yesterday to understand what went wrong during the series in Australia. The meeting, which lasted around two hours, was attended by captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, BCCI President Roger Binny, Joint Secretary Devajit Saikia, and BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla.

A source close to the development said, "The meeting was detailed, with lengthy discussions on the team's performance, especially the batting lineup. Management wanted to understand why Indian batters, despite having a strong lineup, have not been able to perform. They also focused on identifying the core reasons and how to rectify them."

The source added that everything has been noted, and steps will be taken after the Champions Trophy.

EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON CHAMPIONS TROPHY

One of the members also pointed out that the team lost a series at home, indicating that something is wrong, and asked for an explanation.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's performances were also discussed, and it is understood that both players have been asked to show more effort on the field. When asked about the future of Test team captaincy and Rohit and Virat's positions, the source said,

"As of now, nothing will happen, but the management is considering captaincy changes going forward after the Champions Trophy. If things do not change, steps may be taken regarding captaincy. As far as Virat is concerned, he also needs to show some runs, but I don't see either of them being removed from the Test team as we speak. Everything depends on their performance in the Champions Trophy."

The team management is also not happy with the idea of players picking and choosing bilateral series and domestic tournaments. The source mentioned, "Players will not be allowed to pick and choose. This has been strictly communicated to both the players and selectors."

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