Harbhajan Singh, a seasoned Indian cricketer, has made the audacious assertion that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would find it hard to participate in the 2027 ODI World Cup following their retirement from the other two forms of the game. After assisting India in winning the World Cup trophy in the previous year, the two mainstays of Indian cricket announced their retirement from T20Is, and this year they called it quits in the red-ball format, much to everyone's surprise. However, the pair has made themselves accessible for the 50-over format, and on several occasions, they have also stated that they want to capture the 2027 WC trophy.

Although Rohit and Kohli had memorable World Cup campaigns with the bat in 2023, their aspirations of winning the prized trophy were crushed by the defeat in the championship, and they are eager to try again.

The duo's prospects of appearing in the 2027 World Cup have been questioned by Harbhajan. He argues that abandoning two formats may restrict their match preparation and have a negative effect on their play as the game goes on.

"In truth, it's too far. They haven't played any other formats in a very long time. No matter how dedicated or how great you are, it becomes exceedingly hard for anyone. On his YouTube channel, Harbhajan stated that the game advances somewhere and you are left behind if you don't play it continuously.

"Compare this Dhoni to the one from six years ago"

The former spinner then mentioned MS Dhoni's situation, pointing out that he quit international cricket after the 2019 World Cup but continued to compete in the IPL. He didn't hesitate to emphasize the obvious decline in Dhoni's batting performance over the last few seasons.

"It will be difficult. We have witnessed MS Dhoni play in the IPL. Take a look at how he has done over the past three years. You can clearly see the difference between this Dhoni and the one from six years ago, when he was regularly representing India, Harbhajan said.

Following that, beginning on October 19, 2025, in Australia, Kohli and Rohit will represent India in a three-game ODI series. The seasoned duo, having retired from Tests and T20Is, is anticipated to rejoin the team, adding much-needed depth and consistency to the top order in preparation for a hectic white-ball schedule.

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