Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Former Indian chief selector MSK Prasad has expressed confidence in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s continued value to the Indian team, saying the veteran duo will be huge assets for the Men in Blue in the 2027 ODI World Cup. The two stalwarts were at their free-flowing best, delivering a formidable display to help guide India to a nine-wicket win in the third ODI against Australia to avoid a series whitewash. Rohit (121 not out) picked up from his impressive outing in Adelaide and played an even chanceless knock, notching his 33rd ODI hundred. The former India skipper is third in the tally for most hundreds in the format behind Kohli (51) and Sachin Tendulkar (49).
Meanwhile, Kohli, who had been dismissed for successive ducks in the first two ODIs, got back among the runs with a valuable unbeaten 74. Kohli’s unbeaten knock of 74 saw him leap past Kumar Sangakkara to become the second-highest run-getter in Men’s ODIs history. Currently boasting 14255 runs from 305 matches, Kohli is only behind Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time tally. “I am extremely happy —I was really looking forward to their performances in the last two matches. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but I am thrilled that it finally happened, and it is very important. As you head towards the World Cup, you need their services. People like Virat and Rohit Sharma will be big assets for the side,” Prasad said.
“I don’t really see people looking at them based on their current form. What they have done in the past, Rohit has become fit, and Virat is fit as always. So testing those people is, like, hah, very difficult to answer! They have got 83 or 84 hundreds between them, and if you want to test them, it is something surprising to me,” he said.
