Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two of India‘s most prominent cricketers, retired from T20I cricket after guiding the team to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, a win that ended the nation’s 11-year wait for an ICC title. They also bid adieu to Test cricket in May this year, leaving everyone surprised. Despite stepping away from two formats, both are still active in ODIs, with their sights set on the 2027 ODI World Cup.

However, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed doubts about their ability to maintain performance. He noted that after retiring from two formats, staying at the top of their game, particularly for a World Cup, becomes difficult.

“It’s been quite a while, and they’re not involved in any other formats. It’s tough for anyone, no matter how committed they are or how great they are,” Harbhajan mentioned on his YouTube channel.

“If you don’t play the game regularly, the sport evolves and you end up falling behind,” he added.

Harbhajan highlighted MS Dhoni’s example, who didn’t play international cricket after India were eliminated from the 2019 World Cup.

“It will be challenging. We’ve seen MS Dhoni in the IPL. Just look at his performance over the past three years,” he said.

“You can see the difference between the Dhoni now and the Dhoni from six years ago when he was playing regularly for India,” Harbhajan added.