Team India's prolific batting duo Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have begun their practice session ahead of the first ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on October 19, Sunday. The pair were seen wielding their respective willows, with Kohli especially playing watchfully in one of them against a fast bowler.
With Kohli and Rohit set to make an international comeback for the first time since March 2025, there is massive hype around their presence. Having scored over 25000 runs in ODIs, it will be a massive boost for the tourists to have them around. Solid performances in the series will go a long way in helping them remain in the frame in Team India's 2027 World Cup plans.
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It will notably be also India's first ODI at the venue, that has hosted only three 50-over international games thus far. Hence, the bouncy nature of the surface will be something that could prove to be a challenge for the visitors.
"Hopefully, those two guys will have a successful tour" - Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Following the Test series against the West Indies, head coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about the chances of Kohli and Rohit featuring in the 2027 World Cup. He responded the below, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"Look, 50-over World Cup is still two-and-a-half years away, and I think it is very important to stay in the present. That is very important. Obviously, they are quality players, they are coming back, their experience is going to be a handful in Australia as well. Hopefully, those two guys will have a successful tour, and more importantly, as a team, we will have a successful series."
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
