Ravi Shastri has warned the people pushing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli out of India’s ODI side that their own jobs are at risk. Speaking on Star Sports before the first ODI against West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27, he said anyone trying to remove the pair should “watch their chairs.”
The warning follows months of debate over both players, from questions over Rohit’s future to claims Kohli was not wanted in the India team. Shastri rejected the idea that they had ever left.
“You know what pisses me off? And I’m being direct here. Is this the topic of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma? You know that they’re back. When did they ever go? And where did they go that they have to be back? If people want to take them out, they’ve got to watch their chairs. They might have to disappear.”
Ravi Shastri, Star Sports, India vs West Indies 1st ODI, September 27, 2026
What the scorecard shows is a hundred. What it hides is how differently a senior batter plays once he stops treating every innings as a trial.
Kohli backed the warning within hours. West Indies posted 295/7, and India reached 300/2 in 41.4 overs to win by eight wickets.
| Batter | Score |
|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | 32 |
| Shubman Gill | 110 (108 balls) |
| Virat Kohli | 139* (88 balls) |
Kohli hit 10 fours and nine sixes and added 151 with Gill for the second wicket. He also became the fastest batter to 15,000 ODI runs, getting there in 303 innings against Sachin Tendulkar’s 377.
Rohit did not join him. He fell for 32 early in the chase, so the answer on the field came from one half of the pair.
The chair line carries extra weight right now. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s contract ends in early October, and reports say he has told the BCCI he does not want an extension. Parthiv Patel is the leading name to replace him. Shastri named no one.
He was clear about where this is heading.
“Don’t worry about these two. They’ll be there. They will play. And God willing, they do well today… In all probability, it will be the last World Cup they’ll play.”
Ravi Shastri, Star Sports, September 27, 2026
Kohli has said the same himself, calling 2027 his last World Cup and one he wants to win.
Insider Read
When a senior player’s place is debated every series, the natural reaction is to bat safe. You play for the fifty that keeps you in the side, you leave the risky shot alone, and you guard your wicket. Selectors then read that caution as decline, and the pressure grows.
Kohli did the reverse. Nine sixes in 88 balls is not a batter protecting his spot. It is a batter who has decided the only argument worth making is finishing the game, and that is the hardest switch a senior player can make.
The second ODI is in Guwahati on September 30. That is Rohit’s chance to give his own answer.
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