Mithun Manhas, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President, has asserted that a player’s fitness and performance should remain the main criteria for players’ selection instead of their age.
His comments came at a point when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s selection dilemma is making headlines ahead of the ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Speaking to Sportstar, Manhas asserted that every player will be judged based on their returns for the team.
“As far as the BCCI is concerned, we are not in a position to comment because it all depends on the selectors and the coaches. But from how I look at it, fitness and performance should be the criteria for selection, and definitely not age,” Manhas told Sportstar.
“If somebody is fit to play, and you see him performing and winning games for the country, that is the only criterion we should focus on,” he added.
Notably, Shubman Gill was elevated as the ODI captain in October 2025 after India won the ICC Champions Trophy under Rohit Sharma in March 2025. Manhas reckoned that players like Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Rohit and Jasprit Bumrah play a key role in guiding the young skipper.
“Having Virat, Hardik (Pandya) and Rohit in the side will definitely help him (Gill). Then there are the likes of (Jasprit) Bumrah, who could lead, who can be the bowling captains, and then somebody who will be the fielding captain. So, it is all about the distribution of workload,” Manhas concluded.
