The Board of Control for Cricket in India has clarified that senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remain available for One-Day International selection despite stepping away from both Test and T20I cricket earlier this year. BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told reporters in London that the pair’s decisions to retire from red-ball cricket were made independently and without pressure from the board. Shukla said the governing body never instructs players when to end their careers in a particular format and emphasised that both former captains are "legendary batters" whom India will continue to consider for the 50-over side. Their continued availability boosts India’s planning for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe, with Kohli already expressing a desire to play the tournament and Sharma committed to the format. Kohli, 36, has amassed 14,181 runs in 302 ODIs, while Sharma, 38, has scored 11,168 runs in 273 matches, including the highest individual ODI score of 264. Their exits from Tests came days apart in May, ending careers of 123 Tests for Kohli and 67 for Sharma. Shubman Gill has since assumed the Test captaincy as India begin a new cycle in red-ball cricket.