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“I’d encourage Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to…”: Waugh makes domestic plea to IND legends

Aakash Saini

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma; and Steve Waugh [Source: @BCCI, @FoxCricket/x]Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma; and Steve Waugh [Source: @BCCI, @FoxCricket/x]

Former Australian cricketer Steve Waugh has encouraged India’s modern-day batting behemoths Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to pursue domestic cricket. Both Kohli and Rohit concurrently retired from Test cricket earlier this year, much like how the two legendary batters made their T20I exits back in June 2024.

Playing only ODIs for Team India for the time being, the two cricketers are seemingly on a path to play the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

Waugh says Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are “seasoned professionals”

Steve Waugh recently weighed in over the prospects of ageing Indian veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma playing domestic cricket. The 1999 World Cup-winning Australian captain praised the two legendary Indian batters, and acknowledged their recent performance against Australia at the SCG.

While speaking exclusively with Revsportz, Steve Waugh said:

“It is a bit of a different scenario. It would take a different mindset. But those guys are seasoned professionals and all-time great players. So they’ll be able to adapt and modify their game situation. You saw in Sydney how well they played. They took control of the match and won it for India. So they’re still more than capable.”

Steve Waugh also signified the importance of playing domestic cricket, be it Australian cricketers pursuing Sheffield Shield or Indian players playing Ranji Trophy. He stated:

“Firstly, the Australian players don’t play a lot of Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia either. They play occasionally. I think they should play more. In India, players should play the Ranji Trophy more. Not for the fact that it’s a workload. It’s more about keeping the cricket strong and giving encouragement to younger players and getting them prepared for the next level. So when they play, all of a sudden the competition is lifted. The standards get higher.”

Steve Waugh added that in a bid to keep their cricket strong, players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli must go back to their domestic roots.

“So they have a responsibility to go back and play at that domestic level as well. And you’re right. If they’re playing for their country, then playing a couple of games for their states is not going to impact them too much. So I’d encourage them to do that.”

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli recently toured Australia to play a three-match ODI series against the hosts. After incurring big losses in the first couple of games, the two cricketers came to their own in the dead-rubber at the SCG, with Sharma plundering a match-winning ton.

As of now, it remains to be seen if both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will participate in this year’s 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament.