Star India batter Virat Kohli is all set to return to action after an extended break from the game. He last played for the national side during the Champions Trophy, where India lifted the title by defeating New Zealand in the final. His most recent appearance in competitive cricket came in the IPL 2025 final against Punjab Kings. Now, after more than four months away from the field, the 36-year-old is ready to make his comeback in the first ODI against Australia on October 19 at Perth Stadium.
Notably, Kohli is currently on the verge of breaking a major record as he returns to competitive cricket. The veteran batter currently sits second on the list of all-time highest run-scorers in limited-overs cricket. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart with 18,436 runs, while Kohli has amassed 18,369 runs across ODIs and T20Is. He now needs just 67 more runs to surpass Tendulkar and become the highest run-scorer in white-ball cricket history.
Future of Rohit, Virat
On the other hand, there have been plenty of talks about the Australia tour being the last of Kohli in international cricket. He has already announced his retirement from Tests and T20Is and currently features in only one format. Apart from him, Rohit Sharma’s future also hangs in the balance. The Mumbai batter has expressed a desire to feature in the ODI World Cup 2027, but chief selector Ajit Agarkar hasn’t assured anything, stating that the team management hasn’t decided anything.
“2027 is a long way away, both of them play one format […] they haven't had a lot of cricket [in recent months]. Once they start playing, then you assess as you go forward. They are not on trial, they've achieved all they had to achieve, not just winning trophies but runs [as well], so it's not that if both of them don't get runs in this series that will be the reason they won't be there, or if they get three hundreds, [that will be] the reason they play 2027,” Agarkar said in NDTV World Summit.
“It's still a long way away, we'll see how the team shapes up, but we have some ideas, and as we go along we'll probably have a better idea of where the team is progressing,” he added.