“I think it is very, very difficult” - Aakash Chopra opens up on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s ODI future

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has opined his views on the veteran duo Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s retirements from T20Is and Tests, adding that they have retired from the wrong format. Notably, Kohli and Rohit bid adieu to Tests and T20Is.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra stated that the duo should’ve continued playing Tests and said goodbye to the One-Day format instead. It’s worth noting that Team India played only six ODIs in 12 months before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 earlier this year.

"The truth is that they have said goodbye to the wrong format. They had left T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup, but the story might have been different had they continued to play Tests and said goodbye to ODIs. India played only six ODIs in 12 months before the Champions Trophy," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

While Kohli and Rohit announced their T20I retirement after winning the T20 World Cup 2024, they went on to retire from the longest format of the game a few days before the squad selection for the England tour.

Chopra felt that the duo would’ve got more game time if they had retired from ODIs instead of bidding adieu to Tests. India will play the next ODI series against Australia Down Under in October this year.

"There is a possibility that you might play only six Tests in a year, but even if it's only six Tests, it's 30 days of cricket. If only six ODIs are played, it's just six days of cricket over a period of time. It will be more than 100 days from your last IPL match to the next ODI you will play. You are not playing at all. You are not practicing at all," he added.

"A three-match series gets over in seven to eight days. Then the next one would be after three months. Gaps are just incredibly huge, and you won't play first-class cricket in between. It's true that had they continued playing Test cricket and left ODIs, staying in the groove would have been a lot easier," he observed.

"When you have retired from Tests, and ODI cricket isn't played much, it's not going to make a lot of sense. So just two months of high-intensity IPL, where you would get to play 14 to 16 innings, and then you would play three matches after six months, and then three matches after another three months. I think it is very, very difficult," Chopra concluded.

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