“He is keen to play” - Dinesh Karthik reveals Virat Kohli is keen to play ICC ODI World Cup 2027

Former Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has stated that Virat Kohli will continue to remain as India’s biggest asset moving into the forthcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2027, scheduled to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

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Speaking on his official Instagram handle, Karthik asserted that players like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul can freely play because Kohli provides enough stability in the batting order. 

Giving out a few instances from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 edition, Karthik spoke about how Kohli rescued India from 31/1 against India and from 42/2 in the semi-final, adding that such consistent knocks make him an irreplaceable player in the XI.

“He is the chase master. He is keen to play in that World Cup. He was training during this big lay-off that he had had (in London) for a long time in his life. I also know he practised cricket easily 2-3 sessions a week. Now, it tells you that the man is serious about wanting to play this World Cup,” Dinesh Karthik said on his Instagram handle.

“If he is around, there is no tension because he knows what it takes to perform under pressure. And, he's done that time and time again. I'm very confident he will do it again,” he concluded.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP1FLPskuBB/ 

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will return to the international arena for the first time since the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy campaign in March 2025. The first ODI of the three-match series against Australia, commences on Sunday, October 19 in Perth.

India’s ODI squad vs Australia: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

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