NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has backed Indian stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, rejecting narratives suggesting they need to be phased out of the ODI setup. He insisted the duo stays important to India’s plans and may proceed till the 2027 ODI World Cup, based on a report revealed on Monday.Go Past The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“It’s a incontrovertible fact that Virat and Rohit are the spine of the Indian batting line-up, and the best way they’ve performed within the current ODI collection, it could actually confidently be mentioned that they will play till the 2027 World Cup,” Afridi mentioned.

Afridi added that each ought to characteristic primarily in high-profile matches. “You could protect each these stars, and when India is taking part in towards a weaker group, they will attempt some new gamers and relaxation Virat and Rohit,” he mentioned.The previous all-rounder additionally criticised India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, with whom he shared frosty on-field moments throughout their taking part in careers. “The way in which Gautam began his stint, it appeared like he thought that what he thinks and says is true, however after a while, it was proved that you’re not all the time proper.”Afridi additionally expressed pleasure over Rohit surpassing his ODI six-hitting document. “Data are supposed to be damaged, and this too is now bettered. I’m blissful {that a} participant whom I’ve all the time favored has damaged this document.”“My document of quickest century stood for almost 18 years, but it surely was lastly damaged, so information are set by one participant and one other participant comes and breaks it. That is cricket.”Rohit went previous Afridi’s tally of 351 ODI sixes throughout India’s second ODI towards South Africa in Raipur and now stands at 355 from 279 video games. Reflecting on his affiliation with Rohit throughout the 2008 IPL season, Afridi recalled: “I performed alongside Rohit for the Deccan Chargers in my solely Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2008, and at the moment, I favored him.“Throughout apply periods of the Fees, I watched him bat, and his class impressed me. I knew that someday Rohit would play for India, and he has proved himself as a cultured batter,” he mentioned.