ODI farewell watchlist: Top 5 Indian players who might retire post 2023 ODI World Cup loss

The Indian cricket team and fans had a disappointing game at the finals of the ODI World Cup 2023 as Australia defeated India by 6 wickets.

This might not be the worst news that Indian fans would receive this year as many players of the current team might retire from ODIs post the dust settles to this horrible nightmare. The 2027 ODI World Cup is 4 years away and many of our prime players might call it quits owing to age and the pressures of ODI cricket.

Here are the top 5 Indian players who could retire from ODIs after the 2023 World Cup loss:

5. R Ashwin:

R Ashwin, the highest-ranked Test bowler in the world, was part of the Indian Squad for the ODI World Cup 2023 but only managed to be part of one game in the whole World Cup. Ashwin, the oldest player in the Indian dressing room at 37, would be 41 by the next World Cup in 2027. Ashwin might play till the end of the World Test Championship cycle and retire post that. 

4. Mohammed Shami:Mohammed Shami, the highest wicket-taker for India in World Cup history, might not be there to showcase his magic with the ball for the next world cup even though he is in prime form right now. Shami, who is now 33 years of age, will become 37 years old for the next ODI World cup in 2027. Although many players have played beyond that age, fast bowlers usually do not sustain after a certain age owing to the impact of age on their pace.

3. R Jadeja: One of the fittest candidates in the Indian team right now, Jadeja might not be part of the Indian ODI setup in the future as his main focus might shift to T20 and Test cricket. Jadeja has been in the Indian ODI setup since his debut and has not looked back ever since. His fielding and heroic finishing of innings lower down the order will be remembered forever.

2. Virat Kohli: Although Virat Kohli became the player of the tournament after his heroics in the ODI World Cup 2023, it seems unlikely that the Indian great will be part of the ODI World Cup 2027 setup as he would be 39 years old by then. Virat, who has now become the 3rd ranked player of the world, might be still fit to play till then but it is unlikely that Virat would continue taking the pressure so much in his last years. Virat, has openly said that Test Cricket is his favourite format of the game, might look to get back to his A game in the longest format of the game. There is also nothing more left for him to achieve in the ODI format, as he has already won the world cup in 2011 and now has the most number of centuries (50) in the format, which we don’t think will/can be broken pretty soon.

1.Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma had only one dream of winning a world cup for India. Although, Rohit Sharma was part of the team that won India’s first world cup in this century in the 2007 T20 world cup, winning an ODI World cup is a class apart. Rohit Sharma gave it everything he had to win the World cup this year but could not manage to. Two times in a row, Rohit Sharma crossed the 500 run in World Cups but could not manage to win the cup a single time. Rohit might retire from ODIs and focus more on Test cricket and the upcoming T20 world cup as he would like to retire on a high note. Rohit Sharma is already 36 years old and fans would not want to see him struggle in 2027 as he would be 40 years old by then.