New Delhi, Nov 12: India stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have reportedly been instructed to participate in domestic matches for their respective state teams to stay in the reckoning for ODI team.

The duo are active only in ODIs, having retired from the shortest and longest formats, that is T20Is and Tests. With limited one-day internationals scheduled for now and the focus on the 20-over format as the T20 World Cup approaches quickly, Kohli and Rohit will need game time to stay in contention for a place in the squad for the ODI World Cup scheduled in 2027.

The duo will most likely participate in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, scheduled to start from December 3, and will probably only be seen again in India colours in January 2026, when the Men in Blue host New Zealand for ODIs from the 11th of the month. Kohli and Rohit will have a month-long break in between, which is when the Vijay Hazare Trophy is set to be played.

A report by the Indian Express suggests that Rohit has informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) about his availability for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but there haven’t been any updates on this from Kohli’s end.

“The board and team management have conveyed to both of them that they will have to play domestic cricket if they want to play for India. As they both have retired from two formats, they have to play domestic cricket to be match-fit,” BCCI sources were quoted in the report.

Kohli and Rohit last played the ODI series in Australia last month, where their unbeaten partnership in the third and final game helped the Men in Blue secure a nine-wicket win. Rohit shone in two of the three games, including scoring a century in the third, while Kohli recovered from two ducks to score an unbeaten 87 in the final ODI.

Rohit has reportedly informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that he could be available for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, set to begin on November 26.

The India captain has been sharpening his skills at Mumbai’s Sharad Pawar Indoor Academy in recent days. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is also hopeful that Kohli will make a return to domestic cricket.

Last season, Rohit and Kohli each played one Ranji Trophy match. In January, Kohli returned to play for Delhi after a 12-year absence, while Rohit appeared for Mumbai after a 10-year hiatus.

New Delhi, Nov 11: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that the upcoming two-Test series will pose a tough challenge for reigning World Test Champions South Africa, noting that “playing against India in India is never easy, as they are a very strong side in subcontinent conditions.”

The two teams are set to face each other in a multi-format series, which will see Gill and Co. host the Proteas for two Tests and three ODIs. Then, Surykumar Yadav-led side will engage in five T20Is against the Proteas men.

The first Test will be played in Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens, home of Ganguly, who is also the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

“The first Test starts in Kolkata in a few days, and it’s going to be a tough tour for South Africa. Playing against India in India is never easy. India is a very strong side in the subcontinent, and they are a strong team even overseas these days. I’m really looking forward to the Test at Eden Gardens. South Africa is a good side, so it should be a high-quality contest,” Ganguly said on JioStar.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj also shared his thoughts ahead of the Test series, saying, “This series is crucial for the new WTC cycle, especially since South Africa is the defending champion. While they drew 1-1 with Pakistan, we’re confident based on our own good form, having created a positive environment and performed well in England, and having won against the West Indies.”

“Personally, I’m bowling with good rhythm and looking to make the most of it. Facing strong teams helps identify areas to improve, and I’m really excited for this challenge,” he added.

New Delhi, Nov 10: India head coach Gautam Gambhir said the team doesn’t approach a game thinking about averages and strike rates but instead focuses on the impact that a player can create in a given situation. His remarks came after India’s recent 2-1 T20I victory over Australia Down Under.

In a video interview shared by the BCCI on Monday, Gambhir spoke on Team India’s dynamic and flexible batting order in the T20Is and the bold approach adopted by the players.

“That has been the ideology from day one. When I took over as the head coach, from Sri Lanka till now, it hasn’t changed. Batting orders are very overrated, except the openers obviously, because they’re permanent. Everything shuffles because it’s not the amount of runs that matter in T20 cricket; it’s the impact that matters. People sometimes miscalculate or do not differentiate between the batting order, the runs, and the impact. Runs are different and impact is different in T20 cricket; it is all about the impact, it’s 120 balls, and every ball is an event.

“Everyone needs to have the maximum impact that we can have, and that’s the reason from day 1, has been a very fluid batting order, and that is how we want to play this game as well. We don’t want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates and all that stuff. We are thinking about how much impact a person can create in what situation. That is going to be very important for this T20 side because, with time, T20 cricket will evolve. We as coaches don’t evolve. We want to be ahead of T20 cricket, ahead of time. The most important thing is that these guys, the young boys, have adopted, and hopefully they continue adapting and evolving in future,” Gambhir told bcci.tv.

India played Australia in three ODIs and five T20Is Down Under, with the Men in Blue losing the 50-over series 2-1 and winning the 20-over series by the same margin. Giving his honest opinion on the team’s performances, Gambhir said that while individual performances can be appreciated and celebrated, they would never celebrate a series loss.

“I have always been a believer that it’s not about the individual performances. Yes, I can be very happy with individual performances, and I will always remain happy with individual performances, but ultimately, we lost the one-day series. That’s the bottom line. And I can never celebrate a series loss as a coach. As a player, I can appreciate individuals, but as a coach, it is my moral responsibility that we as the nation and we as individuals should never, never celebrate a series loss. Ultimately, we are representing the country. Yes,the T20 series was different, and we won the series. A lot of positive, but a lot of learning as well. We are still not where we want to be in three months down the line because the bigger picture is not the series, but the World Cup as well. We are in that space where we want to be before the World Cup,” he added.