'You are not practicing at all' - Aakash Chopra feels Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma retired from wrong format

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels it would have been more ideal if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would have retired from ODIs and continued playing Test cricket instead of the opposite. Rohit and Kohli are left with just ODIs after retiring from T20Is and Tests. Chopra pointed out the lack of ODIs played prior to the 2025 Champions Trophy, which India won.

"The truth is that they have said goodbye to the wrong format. They had left T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup, but the story might have been different had they continued to play Tests and said goodbye to ODIs. India played only six ODIs in 12 months before the Champions Trophy, stated Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.

Chopra highlighted the massive lack of game time for the two during the year before they represent the ODI team in Australia later this year.

"There is a possibility that you might play only six Tests in a year, but even if it's only six Tests, it's 30 days of cricket. If only six ODIs are played, it's just six days of cricket over a period of time. It will be more than 100 days from your last IPL match to the next ODI you will play. You are not playing at all. You are not practicing at all," he added.

Not going to make a lot of sense: Chopra

The cricketer-turned-commentator stressed on how the long gaps between matches could possibly disrupt the rhythm of the cricketers.

"A three-match series gets over in seven to eight days. Then the next one would be after three months. Gaps are just incredibly huge, and you won't play First-Class cricket in between. It's true that had they continued playing Test cricket and left ODIs, staying in the groove would have been a lot easier," noted Chopra.

The 47-year-old felt it would be quite challenging for Rohit and Kohli to come back after a long hiatus and get going right away.

"When you have retired from Tests and ODI cricket isn't played much, it's not going to make a lot of sense. So, just two months of high-intensity IPL, where you would get to play 14 to 16 innings, and then you would play three matches after six months, and then three matches after another three months. I think it is very, very difficult," he mentioned.

India will next play an ODI during their white-ball tour of Australia later in the year. Rohit and Kohli previously took the field while representing their respective franchises in IPL 2025.