Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the players that I look up to: Will Young

Ahead of the three-match ODI series against India on Sunday, New Zealand opening batter Will Young has opened up on how far the Indian talismanic batting duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s influence stretches in world cricket.

Speaking to reporters at the Baroda Cricket Association Stadium, Young stated that the New Zealand camp has admired the Indian veteran batting duo for years. Notably, after the conclusion of the ODI series, the five-match T20I series will commence between these two sides.

“Kohli and Sharma are incredible players and they've been at the top of their game in world cricket for a long, long time. (They are the) players that I look up to, (along with) a lot of the other players in this Black Caps group, we've always looked up to too,” Young told reporters.

While the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is around the corner, Young noted that ODIs still matter in the long run, adding that there are still two ICC World events in the Champions Trophy and the ODI World Cup.

“Especially with the T20 World Cup round the corner, it is easy to have the series lost in the greater context. (But) when you're playing for your country, there should always be those two things (passion and motivation),” Young noted.

“It is a slightly different format from Test and T20 cricket, and these days you probably play a little bit less as well. But you've got to remember, there's still two ICC world events – the Champions Trophy and the World Cup – which has had so much wonderful history over such a long time,” he stated.

India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

New Zealand ODI squad for India tour: Michael Bracewell (c), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway (wk), Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young.

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