Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has clarified that senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not being evaluated on a trial basis for the upcoming ODI series against Australia.The three-match series will not determine their chances for the 2027 World Cup. Agarkar emphasised that their exceptional records make it unreasonable to judge their future prospects based on a single series. The first ODI between India and Australia is scheduled to take place in Perth on Sunday.Currently, both Kohli and Rohit exclusively play ODI cricket, resulting in their absence from international cricket for nearly six months leading up to the Australia series beginning Sunday.By the time of the 2027 World Cup in Southern Africa, Rohit would be over 40 and Kohli would be past 39. While some cricketers like Imran Khan have succeeded at similar ages, the physical demands of modern cricket have intensified significantly.“They are part of the squad for Australia,” Agarkar told NDTV. “They have been incredible players for a long time. It’s not a forum to keep harping on individuals. You want to focus on the team and what the team wants to achieve. And in two years’ time, we don’t know what the situation is going to be. So, why just them two? It could be some other younger players.”“That’ll be a bit silly, isn’t it? When one averages over 50 (Kohli, 57.9) and one is close to 50 (Rohit, 48.8), you are not going to put them on trial for every game. 2027 is a long way away, they play only one format, are playing after the Champions Trophy final on the 9th of March. They are playing 19th of October… so once they start playing, then you assess as you go forward. They are not on trial. They have achieved all they had to achieve, not just in terms of trophies but runs. “It’s not that if both of them don’t get runs this series, that’ll be the reason they won’t be there, or if they get three hundreds, that’ll be the reason they play 2027. It’s still a long way away. We’ll see how it all shapes up. We have some ideas, and as we go along, we’ll have a better idea of how the team is progressing.”When questioned about whether legacy players could become a burden for the team, Agarkar emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance between experience and youth. “Not at all. You have legacy cricketers because they have built it for themselves with their performances. There’s not one team in the world that won’t want experience. It’s always got to be a balance between some of our youth or newer players and the senior players to guide them. You’d rather have the experienced players playing well. When you have been around for a while, you take pride in your performances. “Like I said, they have created that legacy for themselves, and you treat them with that respect. Maybe some of the conversations you have with those players don’t come out, but you treat them with nothing but respect. You want them around the team, every year so many players make debut for India, you want the senior guys to be around to guide them.”
