Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is worried about the future of ODI cricket. While talking about this, he said that people started watching Vijay Hazare Trophy matches also when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made a comeback in it, so when these legends retire after the 2027 World Cup, its popularity will reduce rapidly. However, Ashwin also suggested how the popularity of ODI cricket can be maintained and how this format can be kept alive.

Ravichandran Ashwin while talking on his YouTube channel said, “Nothing can be said for sure about the ODI format after the ODI World Cup to be held in 2027. I am worried about it. I am following the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but the way I followed the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, it is a bit difficult to follow. There is a need to know what the audience wants. I think there is still room for Test cricket, but I “Looks like there’s no room for ODIs.”

What will happen to ODI after the retirement of Kohli and Rohit?

Ashwin further said, “People saw it when Rohit and Virat came back in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I always say that the game is bigger than the cricketer, but sometimes these players have to come back to make the game relevant. What will happen when they retire?”

Ashwin further said, “At one time ODI was a great format. It gave players like MS Dhoni who used to take singles for 10-15 overs and then bat stormy in the end. Now you do not have players like Dhoni and there is no need to play like that because now the match is played with 2 balls and there is also a rule of five fielders inside the circle.”

‘ODI series closed, only World Cup should happen’

However, Ashwin not only talked about the concerns but also gave his opinion on how to make ODI cricket important. According to him, ICC should learn from FIFA, ODI series should be stopped and ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy should be organized in just 4 years. Ashwin said, “There are so many leagues in football, but FIFA organizes the World Cup every four years. The World Cup has value.”

Ashwin said, “If you really want to make the ODI format necessary, then the World Cup should be held every four years but there should not be an ODI series, instead a T20 series should be played. With this, the board will also select those players who are doing well in domestic cricket.”

India vs South Africa 3rd ODI will be played on Saturday, December 6 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. This will be the decisive match of the 3-match series, where the record of more than 400 runs can be broken. Virat Kohli has scored centuries in the last two ODIs, while his record on this ground (ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium) is also excellent. Rohit Sharma has made the biggest ODI score in Visakhapatnam, he is also in good form.

Virat Kohli has scored 3 centuries so far in Visakhapatnam, if he scores a century on Saturday, he will become the batsman who has scored the most centuries on one ground in India. Kohli is the highest run scorer at this ground in ODIs, he has scored 587 runs in 7 innings. Rohit is second in the list, he has scored 355 runs in 7 innings.

The highest ODI total in Visakhapatnam is 387 runs, which was made by Team India against West Indies in 2019. In this match, Rohit Sharma scored 159 runs in 138 balls, which is the biggest individual inning played here. In terms of the highest individual innings, second is Virat Kohli, who scored unbeaten 157 runs against West Indies in 2018.

Highest ODI total in Visakhapatnam

387/5- vs West Indies (December 18, 2019).

Probable XI for India vs South Africa 3rd ODI

India’s playing 11 (probable): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, KL Rahul (captain, wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.

South Africa’s playing 11 (probable): Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Mathieu Bretzke, Tony De Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Berger, Lungi Ngidi.

Where to watch live telecast of India vs South Africa 3rd ODI?

India vs South Africa 3rd ODI will start at 1:30 pm on Saturday, December 6. The toss will take place at 1 pm. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network. Live streaming will be on JioHotstar app and website.

Virat Kohli has also scored a half-century in the second ODI against South Africa. In the first ODI played in Ranchi, he had played a century inning of 135 runs, now his bat has roared in Raipur also. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has praised his innings. According to a recent report by Cricbuzz, Virat had agreed to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This is the third consecutive match when Virat has scored 50 or more.

Virat Kohli completed his fifty in 47 balls, after which Kohli all over the field! Kohli! Slogans started being raised. As soon as Virat completed his fifty after running one run, the camera turned towards Gautam Gambhir and he was seen clapping in praise of Virat. This is the 13th time in ODI cricket history that Virat Kohli has scored more than 50 in 3 or more consecutive innings.

Gautam Gambhir appreciating Virat Kohli’s fifty. pic.twitter.com/Qh40EfiDF9

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 3, 2025

Virat Kohli played an unbeaten half-century of 74 runs in the last ODI match against Australia. In the first ODI match against South Africa played in Ranchi, he maintained his form and played an inning of 135 runs, making an important contribution in helping Team India win by 17 runs. Now he has also scored a fifty in the second ODI against South Africa.

There is no confirmation yet on whether his form will take him to the 2027 World Cup, but according to Cricbuzz, DDCA President Rohan Jaitley has confirmed that Virat will be seen playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Indian domestic cricket.

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Virat Kohli has scored the 52nd century of his ODI career. He already holds the record for scoring most centuries in ODI cricket history. This is his 83rd century innings in international cricket. Virat completed his century in 102 balls in the first ODI against South Africa. Kohli hit 7 fours and 5 sixes to complete his century.

In the same match, Rohit Sharma also scored the 60th half-century of his ODI career. Rohit could not reach the century, but Virat showed strong performance and crossed the 100-run mark for the 52nd time in his ODI career.

Virat Kohli has now become the batsman who has scored the most centuries against South Africa in the history of ODI cricket. This was his sixth ODI century against South Africa. Before him, both Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner had scored five centuries each in ODI against South Africa. This is Virat Kohli’s third century in five ODI innings on Ranchi ground. Before this, Virat Kohli had scored three centuries each in Visakhapatnam and Pune.

Before this, Virat Kohli’s last century came against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025, where he played an unbeaten inning of 100 runs. The pressure of retirement was continuously increasing on Kohli, while there are question marks over his playing in the 2027 World Cup. Meanwhile, this century innings is telling something else.

Earlier, Virat had also played an innings of 74 runs in the last ODI match against Australia. Kohli has already retired from T20 and Test, and now plays only ODI. This century innings has shown his hard work and commitment to play the 2027 World Cup.

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IND vs SA 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma became the batsman to hit most sixes in ODI, broke Shahid Afridi’s record in Ranchi

Travis Head and Akshar Patel arrived to answer questions from the press before the India vs Australia match on Sunday. During this, when Australia’s explosive batsman was asked a question about the ODI future of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he said something, hearing which Akshar Patel standing with him also started laughing.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired from T20 format only last year, both of them said goodbye to Test this year within a week. Now both play only ODI format, but the biggest question remains whether both will be able to play till 2027 ODI World Cup? Meanwhile, removing Rohit and making Shubman the captain for the ODI series against Australia also raised many questions. It was also said in many reports that this series against Australia could be the last series for both of them.

What did Travis Head say about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli?

On Friday, before the India vs Australia match to be held in Perth, Travis Head and Akshar Patel came together to answer the questions of journalists. In the beginning, more questions were asked from the head itself, during which he was asked about the future of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, then he said, “They have been fantastic for India, I think Akshar can describe them better than me. But two great players, two best players of white ball cricket. Virat is probably the greatest player of white ball cricket, Rohit is also not far behind him.”

Head further said, “I have a lot of respect for what Rohit has done as an opening batsman. He will be missed at some point but I think both of them will play till 2027.” Saying this he looked at Akshar Patel, and Akshar also laughed. He said, “Both of them are trying to play till the World Cup. It is a great thing for the game that they are still playing.”

Rohit-Virat ready to play- Akshar Patel

Indian all-rounder Akshar Patel said about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma that both are professional players and know what to do. Both are fully ready to play in the first match of the series.

Patel said, “They are professionals and they know what to do. They are ready to play. If you talk about their form, they are preparing well. Everyone has given their fitness test, they are ready to play now.”

Virat Kohli is currently in Perth, where India vs Australia first ODI will be played. There are rumors that Kohli will take retirement from ODIs also after this series. Meanwhile, Kohli himself made a cryptic post on social media, which is fast going viral. Experts are linking it with World Cup 2027.

After reaching Perth, Virat Kohli made a post on ‘X’ (earlier Twitter) and wrote, ‘The only time you truly fail, is when you decide to give up.’ If we explain its meaning in Hindi, it is, ‘You really fail only when you decide to give up.’

The only time you truly fail, is when you decide to give up.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 16, 2025

Meaning of this post of Virat Kohli

Earlier, Virat Kohli had shared a video of an advertisement, reposting which Virat wrote these things. Fans believe that Virat has set the tone for the 2027 World Cup. It is believed that through this post Kohli is trying to express his intentions that he still has a lot of cricket left in him. He wants to play more matches for India.

Let us tell you that the final of Champions Trophy 2025 was Virat Kohli’s last international match, after this he will be seen playing for the first time on October 19. After taking retirement from T20 last year, Virat also said goodbye to Test this year. Virat had scored a century against Pakistan in the group stage of the Champions Trophy, he played an important role in India’s victory by playing an innings of 84 runs in the semi-finals.

Gautam Gambhir gave this answer

Before leaving for Australia, Gautam Gambhir had said in Delhi on the question related to the future of Virat and Rohit, “We have to live in the present, hope that both of them will have a successful Australia tour. There is no doubt that both are great players, it has to be seen how their performance is on the Australia tour.”

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are preparing for their comeback in ODI cricket. The Indian team has left for Australia, where a three-match ODI series (IND vs AUS ODI Series 2025) will be played from October 19. Before the start of the series, former Indian team coach Ravi Shastri has also given his opinion on the future of Kohli and Rohit and the plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup. The ODI series between India and Australia is to be played from 19-25 October.

He himself retired

Talking to Fox Sports, Ravi Shastri said on the Test retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, “Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also retired from Test cricket. No one forced them to take retirement, they took retirement on their own. I think the same will happen here too. If they are not able to enjoy the game, or their form is not good, then they can announce their retirement anytime.”

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were last seen representing the Indian team in the Champions Trophy 2025. Virat was the second highest run scorer for India in that tournament, with 218 runs scored with his bat. Whereas Rohit Sharma batted in a flamboyant manner throughout the tournament and scored a total of 188 runs.

How long will we be able to play international cricket?

Ravi Shastri also talked about how long Kohli and Rohit will be able to play international cricket. He said, “Virat is a chase master, Rohit bats explosively while opening. It depends on how much hunger you have, how fit you are, whether that passion is still there in you.”

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India has defeated West Indies 2-0 in the test series. After this, the Indian team faces a tough challenge from Australia. Team India’s Australian tour will run from October 19-November 8, where 3 ODIs and five T20 matches are to be played between the two teams. At present the most discussed topic is Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Now head coach Gautam Gambhir has broken his silence regarding his future.

Gautam Gambhir held a press conference after India’s Test series against West Indies, in which he was asked questions on the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in ODI cricket. He also repeated the same thing which Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar had said a few days ago.

Gautam Gambhir said, “The ODI World Cup is still two and a half years away. We need to think about the current situation. Both of them are excellent cricketers, I hope the Australian tour will be good for both of them.” Virat and Rohit will be playing an international match after 7 months, so it will not be easy for them to live up to the expectations of performing well.

Earlier, rumors have been floating that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been warned that now they cannot be kept in the team on the basis of past achievements. Now if they want to play ODI matches, they will have to perform consistently. Also let us tell you that ABP Live does not confirm these rumours.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli gave a strong performance and contributed significantly in helping India win the Champions Trophy. Apart from the Champions Trophy, they have also won the T20 World Cup together, but the dream of lifting the ODI World Cup trophy has not been fulfilled yet.

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