Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli set for return, squad for Australia ODIs likely to be announced on October 4

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are all set to return to international cricket after a long hiatus as a part of the ODI squad for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia. The two have not featured for India since the Champions Trophy, which was played in February and March.

The duo has retired from T20Is and Test cricket, making ODI cricket their only active format. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCI) is reported to announce the squad for the series on Saturday, October 4.

As for the series, the Men in Blue will play three ODIs on October 19 (Perth), October 23 (Adelaide) and October 25 (Sydney). This will be followed up by five T20Is spanning October 29 to November 8. The T20I squad is anticipated to be released along with the 50-over squad. 

Rohit and Kohli retired from T20Is after emerging victorious at the T20 World Cup last yea after India won a thriller of a summit clash against South Africa by seven runs. As for their call on the longest format, Rohit and Kohli announced retirement ahead of the five-match Test series against England earlier this year.  

Rohit and Kohli are set to have their eyes set on the ODI World Cup 2027. By the time the marquee tournament comes by, Rohit will be 40 while Kohli will be 39. There have been speculations that the BCCI might not consider them for that long.

Contrary to expectations, Rohit and Kohli were not selected in India A squad for the against Australia A. Notably, India A won the two-match unofficial Test series by a 1-0 margin and are coming on the back of a 171-run in the first unofficial ODI in Kanpur with two more ODIs to go.