Quiz: Since the first T20 World Cup in 2007, how many players who played only ODI cricket have been part of a 50-over World Cup winning team? Answer: No. By 2027, Rohit and Kohli hope to change that in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Assuming, of course, they get drafted. After dropping out of Tests and T20Is, they now occupy a strange space: giant names, shortened games. That’s why IPL is so important. It was their most high-profile audition. Both will need to perform well over the next eight weeks if they are to convince an increasingly ruthless and pragmatic team management and selection panel mumbai indians They are Royal Challengers Bangalore and Royal Challengers Bangalore. This may sound dramatic. After all, few players have achieved more. But the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup will not be paved by reputation or old highlights. This will depend on current form and health. Both are still talking to the captain Shubman Gill and others have also pointed this out. The more difficult question is whether they can last that long. For Rohit, who turns 39 on April 30, and Kohli, 37, this IPL is a fitness test-cum-batting test. Both are now single-format cricketers. Both must prove they can withstand long, high-intensity campaigns and still be relevant in 2027. However, fitness is only half the problem. Form, that fickle friend, is another. Ask any Indian cricketer what they fear most and the answer is simple: out of sight, out of mind. This is why IPL is so important for Rohit and Kohli. This has brought the heroes back into the limelight after India’s T20 World Cup victory grabbed the public’s attention. ODIs are becoming increasingly rare. India last played a five-match ODI series in February-March 2019. For players in a single format, a bad series can mean a long wait for an opportunity. These gaps hurt batsmen the most: the rhythm disappeared, the sharpness of the game diminished, and every defeat felt final. For them, every important IPL innings will be seen as evidence (or lack thereof) that Rohit and Kohli are still performing well, reacting sharply and meeting the intensity demands of top-level ODI cricket. Unlike the IPL, the ODIs do not offer a shock alternative but the ultimate safety valve for slow action. It’s still a seven-hour test of endurance. Lazy analysis leads us to link the careers of Rohit and Kohli. Acronyms like the disgusting “Ro-Ko” only reinforce this. However, the risk is greater for Rohit. His ODI legacy is solid, but age and role are now at the heart of the debate, especially with Gill providing a younger open-field option that offers greater sporting value on the field. The army of fans dressed up Rohit’s loose dismissal as deliberate. The joy of his 20s and 30s was praised as selfless. But as we age, bad habits become more stubborn. They also seeped into his Test matches, accelerating his technical decline and eventual exit from the format. This IPL, selectors and coaches Gautam Gambhir Will keep an eye on him. Can Rohit start with purpose, pick up the pace without losing shape, run hard, train efficiently and maintain acceptable fitness over the long haul? He crossed the 500-run mark only in the 2013 IPL season. It’s that season of midlife again, when quiet whispers can turn into harsh sentences. Remember, his last three ODI scores were 3, 11 and 24 respectively. Things are different with Kohli. He is the most iconic white-ball batsman of his generation and one of the greatest sporting icons in Indian sports. What he now seeks is not excellence but continued relevance. Against South Africa and New Zealand, he showed a greater willingness to attack, finding boundaries inside the first 10 balls. It recommends adaptation. Kohli has mastered the low-risk build-up in ODIs; now he embellishes it with his usual sense of urgency. This is important in the IPL because hit rate and impact shape or break the narrative. Kohli hopes to prove that he can still dominate key bowlers and keep up with the demands of the modern game. If he could combine control with slaughter, his case would still be strong. He has scored over 400 runs in 11 IPL seasons, and while many seasons have seen his strike rate hover around 120, his strike rate has risen above 140 in each of his last three seasons. Last year, his field goal percentage was 147.8 on first down, which was higher than 142.18 on chase. Since 2025, his ODI strike rate is 98.45, which is higher than his career average of 93.41. Kohli also knows that when senior players try to stretch themselves into another World Cup cycle, the selectors’ judgment is about more than just numbers. They look for hunger, energy, and intention. The IPL, played under intense scrutiny and offering instant, ruthless public judgement, is the perfect stage for such examinations. In India, leagues have increasingly become a selection filter across formats – sometimes disturbingly, even in Test matches. For Rohit and Kohli, this season is more than just a tournament. This is their ticket to relevance.
