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Australia's two-time ODI World Cup-winning all-rounder Shane Watson has lauded India's star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after their performances in India's Champions Trophy 2025 triumph. Watson does not see Rohit and Kohli retiring from ODIs as their fitness and form is ideal.
“Those guys are still batting incredibly well. So, Virat, how well he batted during the tournament, the runs he got, he still is the best chaser that’s ever played the game of ODI cricket. And we saw how well he’s batting. And Rohit, in the final, that was an amazing innings against the New Zealand bowling attack,” Watson told Hindustan Times.
“… if those guys are still batting as well as they are, and they still feel the energy and the fire still burning so brightly to play for India, then absolutely, that will keep out the younger guys coming through because they’re that good,” he added.
Watson on what young Indian top-order batters need to do
Kohli was India's second-highest run-scorer in the tournament including an unbeaten century against Pakistan and an 84-run knock against Australia in the semifinal. On the other hand, Rohit was responsible for India's fiery starts. However, he saved his best for the final with a 76-run knock in the run chase against New Zealand. Watson feels that the young Indian batters will have to do something extraordinary to make into the side as an opener or top order batter.
“They know how to perform under pressure, like we saw in the Champions Trophy. A knockout, really, nearly a knockout tournament, and they played incredibly well, especially when the team needed it the most. If those guys want to keep playing, then it’s just the younger guys who are coming through, then they need to really bash down the door. And the only way to do that is scoring a crazy amount of runs and doing extraordinary things if they want to even try and push their way into that Indian team,” said Watson who has scored three centuries in the ongoing International Masters League T20 2025.
Rohit and Kohli have made it clear that they don't want to draw curtains on their ODI careers. Meanwhile, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad and others are a few candidates for the opening and no.3 batter role.
