New Delhi, July 17, 2026
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly questioned the team management and national selectors over the prolonged uncertainty on future of veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and has demanded immediate clarity for the duo ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.
IANS had reported that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee were unlikely to pick Rohit in the ODI format after the third and final game of the series, currently tied at 1-1, at Lord’s in London on Sunday.
Ashwin also stated that if the decision-makers had already resolved to move past the legendary pair for the upcoming mega event in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, the roadmap should have been explicitly communicated to them immediately after India’s Champions Trophy triumph in March 2025.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal is pushing hard from behind. But if, as a selector, coach, captain or whoever the decision-maker is – if you’ve already decided in your mind that these players are not going to the 2027 World Cup, and you don’t want them… then that should have been communicated immediately after the Champions Trophy. I know it’s a double-edged sword,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat.
Acknowledging that being phased out is never easy for any cricketer, Ashwin stated that transparent communication remains vital to prevent senior players from feeling unwanted in the dressing room. “If you go and tell players that you want to move on from them, no player will feel good about it. Even if the selectors or the coach had come to me in Australia and said, ‘We want to move past you. We’re done with you.’
“I would also have felt bad. I’d think, ‘One bad series… is that enough? Every player is allowed one poor series.’ That’s how every player would feel. But once it’s done, you can at least say, ‘Okay… the communication was clear,’” he observed.
Questioning the timing of the current uncertainty, Ashwin expressed bewilderment over why the situation has been allowed to linger with less than a year left for the global event’s commencement.
“Maybe it has already happened in Rohit’s case. Maybe it has happened in Virat’s case. Virat has been excellent. Rohit has been more than decent. So why have we allowed this to drag on until August 2026… …when there are only 10-12 months left before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa? Why has it come this far? That’s my only question.
“If either of those two players doesn’t feel wanted, two things will happen. First, they cannot perform at their best. Second, they will start feeling low about themselves for simply being there. Think about it once.
“If you’re in a house where people don’t want you to stay, can you really live comfortably in that house? We’re going to South Africa in September-October. Do we need Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma? If you ask me, I would want that experience,” concluded Ashwin.(Agency)
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