IND vs SA 2025: 'You don’t mess around with players of Kohli, Rohit's stature' - Former India head coach

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made their intentions clear about helping India win the 2027 ODI World Cup. They retired from T20Is in 2024 and from Tests earlier this year. However, they have produced some exemplary performances in ODI cricket in recent times.

Rohit won the Player of the Series award in October against Australia after scoring one fifty and one century. Kohli also scored a half-century on that tour. In the ongoing three-match ODI series against South Africa, Kohli has amassed back-to-back centuries, while Rohit has also notched up a fifty.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, during a recent interview, warned Rohit and Kohli's critics and ‘certain people’, saying that they shouldn't mess around with players of such stature.

“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are ODI giants. You don’t mess around with players of that stature," Shastri said while speaking to Prabhat Khabar.

Shastri, who shares great camaraderie with Kohli and Rohit, said that if the two former India captains hit their strides, their critics will disappear in no time.

“Some people are doing it. That is all I will say. And if these two switch on properly, hit the right buttons, all the ones messing around will disappear from the scene real quick," Shastri said.

While Shastri didn't take any names, if anyone could read between the lines, it wouldn't take much effort to understand who the people are he is hinting towards.

Kohli has been in prime form against the Proteas. He scored a 120-ball 135 in the first ODI and followed it up with 102 off 93 deliveries in the second. On the other hand, Rohit has registered scores of 57 and 14 so far.

The three-match series is intriguingly poised at 1-1. India won the first match by 17 runs, defending a 350-run target successfully. However, in the second ODI, the Proteas chased down a 359-run target with four wickets and as many balls to spare.

The highly-anticipated third and final ODI is set to be played at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, December 6.