Virat and Rohit have a lot of cricket left in them: Harbhajan

Former India offspinner Harbhajan Singh feels Rohit Sharma can easily continue playing international cricket for at least two years, while Virat Kohli could even go on for five years thanks to his exceptional fitness.

Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from the 20-over format after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies but will continue to play the other two formats. The two veteran batters recently featured in the ODI series in Sri Lanka.

"Rohit can easily play for two more years. You never know with Virat Kohli's fitness. You can see him competing for five years. He is probably the fittest guy in the team," Harbhajan told PTI.

"You ask any 19-year-old competing with Virat (on fitness). Virat will beat him. He is that fit. I believe Virat and Rohit have a lot of cricket left in them, and it is entirely up to them. 

“If they are fit enough, they are performing and the team is winning, they should continue to play. As simple as that.”

Harbhajan wants Rohit and Kohli to keep playing for a while and nurture young players, especially in Test cricket. "Red-ball cricket, you really need these two guys to play a little bit more than what people are asking. 

“You need experience in all formats whether its limited overs cricket and Test cricket. You need experienced cricketers to nurture the talent that is coming up.

"Selectors need to see that if someone is not performing well, they should be dropped. Whether they are senior players or juniors. But as long as everyone is fit, they should be able to get selected in the team."

The 44-year-old further said: "And if they are not contributing in any manner, whether it's fitness or number of runs, then the time has come. They should be making way for the youngsters.

"At the end of the day, it's an individual decision and selectors are there to watch these steps as to who is capable of performing at what age. Obviously, they are considering all those factors before picking them."

Harbhajan also spoke about India’s defeat in the ODI series in Sri Lanka. The Indian batters struggled against Sri Lankan spinners, which played a major role in India’s 0-2 defeat. 

"It was one of those things. Sometimes you win it, sometimes you lose it. It's sports after all. All teams go through these periods. You play well but you still don't win. I will give credit to Sri Lanka. They played well. They played better than India."

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