Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has showered praise on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after the veteran batters continued their good show in ODIs. Srikkanth said the pair should be part of the ODI World Cup 2027 squad and even said the team can’t do anything without their services.
While Rohit Sharma scored a decent knock of 57 runs before he was plumbed in front of the wickets by Marco Jansen, Virat Kohli scored a match-winning knock of 135 runs off 120 balls in the opening ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Sports Complex, Ranchi on Sunday.
India was able to post a par score of 349 runs on the board after they were put into bat and the hosts registered a 17-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “They’ve worked very hard, it’s not just the runs. They are playing only one format. So it’s not easy to keep your mindset in order playing only the ODI format. They’ve both sealed their place for the 2027 World Cup. We can’t do anything without them.”
“Both batted at a different level. Without these two, India stand no chance in the 2027 ODI World Cup. You need both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, there can’t be questions asked at all about them. Kohli told in 2013 itself how the opposition is done when these two score together. That was a very valid point made by Kohli.”
Meanwhile, Kohli reached his 52nd ODI century off 102 balls and then scored the next 35 runs off just 18 balls. Srikkanth said Kohli batted in the 10th gear after reaching his personal milestone.
“The turning point of Virat Kohli’s knock was after his century. He played in the tenth gear from 100 to 135. That was the reason why we reached 350. Else, we might have only got to 320-325 and lost the game. That last spurt and acceleration by Kohli was key for India,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
“How is he playing this well? He is constantly running also in one side. I thought Adelaide was his favorite ground, but it looks like Ranchi is it. It’s Dhoni’s place as well. Kohli is saying Dhoni’s hometown is his favorite hunting ground.”
The second ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday.
