Are Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma Retiring After ODI Series Against Australia? Ajit Agarkar Drops Major Hint As Netizens React

Although Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to the ODI setup, the end of their careers could be imminent as the Australia tour looms as far as netizens go. Ajit Agarkar, the chief of selectors, remained tight-lipped about the futures of Rohit and Kohli, keeping in mind the 2027 World Cup. Notably, Gill has replaced Rohit as the ODI skipper.

Shubman Gill Appointed Captain Ahead Of IND vs AUS ODI Series, Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli Named In Squad

Rohit and Kohli haven't played competitive cricket since IPL 2025, having announced their retirements from Test and T20I cricket. Although the prolific batting duo have had storied careers across formats, the selectors are seemingly keen to give youngsters some game time. Agarkar also reasoned that Rohit was communicated about the captaincy change before hand. He said, as quoted by The Indian Express:

Ajit Agarkar said, “Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are non committal about the 2027 World Cup”. pic.twitter.com/B8Dxzn8a92

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 4, 2025

"It’s practically impossible to have three different captains across the three formats. At some stage, we need to start looking ahead to the next World Cup and give the next captain at least some time to prepare. We don’t have many ODI games at the moment, but there might be more as we approach the ODI World Cup."

Watch some of the netizens' reactions:

Ajit Agarkar says Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli do not want to talk about the World Cup 2027 at this stage.
😭😭😭 No retirement, please! 😭😭😭

— Ayush Singh (@AyushSi42996521) October 4, 2025

Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli could be pushed into retirement after just 2-3 series if they don’t perform — #IndvsAus might even be their last. Shubman Gill’s insecurity & Gambhir’s politics removed a captain who won 2 ICC trophies, yet they won’t make Shreyas Iyer captain despite… pic.twitter.com/XElr7DPhjB

— Gaurav (@Gaurav_truth) October 4, 2025

Ajit Agarkar drops a bomb 💣:

Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli aren’t discussing WC 2027…

Are we seeing the countdown to retirement? 🧐🇮🇳 #RohitSharma #RohitSharma𓃵 pic.twitter.com/hoqPD7q5WT

— Venkat ⚡️ (@WealthArigato) October 4, 2025

🚨 Rohit-Kohli retirement.

The Australia series could be the farewell series for both legends. pic.twitter.com/70TxzicC9D

— Indian Cricket (@IPL2025Auction) October 4, 2025

Be ready for Rohit Sharma retirement in the near future & it makes no sense for Virat Kohli to leave ODIs but he could go as well

— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) October 4, 2025

Rohit and kohli odi retirement soon
💔💔
May be #Indvsaus will be last series

— DUSTY (@Dustytweetz_) October 4, 2025

So i can say this now for rohit sharma and Virat Kohli the Australia ODI series will be last series of them. Bookmark it

Ab dono nahi khelenge and accha hoga ki match mat khelo 1st odi se pahle hi Retirement lelo .

— GAURAV (@Gaurav_HRX) October 4, 2025

Kohli and Rohit both will announce there retirement after Aus tour on Instagram dont think its fine

— Abhijeet Mishra (@Abhijeet042729) October 4, 2025

With Rohit as captain it was still comfortable for Kohli to keep playing under him but now that a very junior teammate is being promoted as captain, @BCCI is making sure that both legends retire under pressure.

— Nikhil (@nikhilsureka) October 4, 2025

Be ready for Rohit Sharma's retirement in the near future, it makes no sense for Virat Kohli to leave ODIs but he could go as well.

— Pankaj Agrawal (@iampankaj_007) October 4, 2025

Team India's squads:

India’s ODI squad:  Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.

The tour of Australia begins on October 19, with the first of the three ODIs set to be hosted by the Optus Stadium in Perth. The two sides will also play five T20Is to prepare for the World Cup next year in India and Sri Lanka.