Warner and Shastri Back Virat Kohli for 2027 World Cup—If Hunger Remains

Warner was speaking on Fox Cricket during the third India-Australia ODI at Sydney. During the match, Virat bounced back after two rusty ducks in the three match ODI series to score a majestic 74* in 81 balls, with seven fours, forming an unbeaten 168-run second wicket stand with centurion Rohit Sharma to chase down 237 with nine wickets left.

"I think that is a good question for Virat. If you have still got the hunger and the desire to keep playing, and he wants to play in 2027, and his mindset is there, there's no reason why he can't," Warner said as quoted by Fox Cricket.

"He (Virat) is one of the fittest guys in the game, along with being a great father and a husband. So for me, I have got no doubts he can make that. It is whether he still has that passion to get up for training and to do all the stuff you have to do to get there. And I would never doubt that at all with his mindset," he added.

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, who saw Virat from close quarters over the years as a coach, also shares the same sentiment, saying that he will have "no problems physically", but for him, it is about if the drive and form is there.

"I think in his case, it is the passion, the hunger, the desire. You know, how much is there? When you have played for over a decade and a half and you've achieved almost everything in the game, you know, what is there to look forward to?" he said.

"If that drive is there, he will stay fit, because there is no question he's still very fit. It is about form. That is crucial. So I guess in his case, he will take it one series at a time and then see how he is mentally. He will have no problems physically, but it is the mental part of it, that hunger and desire. If that is still there, and he is enjoying it, I think he will carry on," Shastri concluded.

Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. A 61-run stand between skipper Mitchell Marsh (41 in 50 balls, with five fours and a six) and Travis Head (29 in 25 balls, with six fours) started off things for Australia.

Matt Short contributed a knock of 30 in 41 balls, with two fours, and a 59-run stand between Matt Renshaw (56 in 58 balls, with two fours) and Alex Carey (24 in 37 balls, with a four) took the Aussies to 183/3. But from there, Aussies collapsed to 236 all out in 46.4 overs, with Harshit Rana (4/39 in 8.4 overs), Washington Sundar (2/44) being the pick of the bowlers and Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav getting one each.

In the 237 run-chase, India was off to a solid start with a 69-run opening stand between Shubman Gill (24 in 26 balls, with two fours and a six). From there, something happened that fans had waited for all series, as Rohit Sharma (121* in 125 balls, with 13 fours and three sixes) and Virat Kohli (74* in 81 balls, with seven fours) put on an unbeaten 168-run partnership and achieved several milestones, winning the match with nine wickets still in hand.

Rohit won the 'Player of the Match' award and the 'Player of the Series' award as well for top-scoring in the series with 202 runs, including a century and a fifty each.

- ANI