Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has made a bold prediction about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma‘s ODI future after they retired from test cricket.

In the wake of their retirement announcements from senior batters ahead of the five-test series against England’s tour. The duo has decided to pave the way for the youngsters to take over for the next World Test Championship, which has raised doubts over the batters available for the 2027 ODI World Cup for India.

Both stalwarts played a pivotal role in India’s Champions Trophy triumph, where Kohli played crucial knocks against Pakistan and Australia, while Rohit turned up on the big final against New Zealand.

Speaking about the duo continuing to play until the 2027 World Cup, noting that their age at the time of the tournament will make it a key decision for the selection committee.

“They have been massive performers in this format of the game. Again, the selection committee will probably be looking at the 2027 World Cup. They will be looking at ‘will they be able to be in the team for the 2027 World Cup?, questioned Sunil Gavaskar.

“Will they be able to make the kind of contributions they have been making?’. That will be the thought process of the selection committee. If the selection committee thinks ‘yes, they can’, then both of them will be there for that,” told Sunil Gavaskar.

Meanwhile, sharing his view, Gavaskar made a bold claim that he doesn’t think Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be playing in the 2027 mega event.

“No, I don’t think they will be playing. I am being very honest. But, who knows, in the next year or so, if they strike a rich vein of form, and if they keep scoring hundreds and hundreds, even God can’t drop them,” Gavaskar concluded.

Virat Kohli brought the curtains down on an illustrious 14-year-long red-ball career, having featured in 123 tests.

He has 9230 runs at an average of 46.85 in the long format since his debut against the West Indies in 2011. Following Sachin Tendulkar‘s retirement in 2013, Virat Kohli emerged as an integral part of India’s squad in red-ball cricket.

He has 30 centuries and seven double hundreds, the most by and Indian in the format. As a captain he has led India to 40 wins in 68 tests, making him the most’s successful skipper in the nation’s history.

India squad will be missing the services of the Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the upcoming five match test series against England startin in June.