{"id":14219,"date":"2026-06-05T05:42:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/saba-karim-kohlis-world-cup-spot-secure-rohit-still-has-work-to-do"},"modified":"2026-06-05T05:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:42:31","slug":"saba-karim-kohlis-world-cup-spot-secure-rohit-still-has-work-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/saba-karim-kohlis-world-cup-spot-secure-rohit-still-has-work-to-do","title":{"rendered":"Saba Karim: Kohli\u2019s World Cup spot secure, Rohit still has work to do"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli\u2019s form, fitness and relentless run-scoring have given India\u2019s selectors strong confidence ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, but former India wicketkeeper and selector Saba Karim says Rohit Sharma still needs to address key areas before he can be considered a lock for the squad. With both Kohli and Rohit having stepped away from Test and T20 international cricket, the 2027 showpiece is widely viewed as the likely final international chapter of their careers. Yet Karim believes the two former captains are not in the same position at this stage.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Saba Karim believes selectors will focus heavily on Rohit Sharma\u2019s form and fitness over the next six months.<\/li>\n<li>Karim feels Virat Kohli already looks certain to be part of the 2027 ODI World Cup setup.<\/li>\n<li>Karim points to Kohli\u2019s \u201chunger for runs\u201d and overall consistency as proof of his readiness.<\/li>\n<li>In IPL 2026, Kohli\u2019s Royal Challengers Bengaluru campaign featured 675 runs at a strike rate of 165.84, including one hundred and five half-centuries.<\/li>\n<li>In the same IPL season, Rohit\u2019s Mumbai Indians struggled, finishing ninth and scoring 283 runs in nine innings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Rohit still has to prove his fitness and batting rhythm<\/h2>\n<p>Karim\u2019s view is that Rohit must put in significant effort to strengthen his case. He specifically highlighted the need for Rohit to work on his fitness levels and improve his batting output. Karim added that selector attention is expected to remain fixed on Rohit\u2019s performances during the coming half-year to determine whether he fits into the World Cup planning.<\/p>\n<h2>Kohli\u2019s track record means he doesn\u2019t need to convince anyone<\/h2>\n<p>Karim believes Kohli\u2019s situation is far more straightforward. He argued that the selectors appear already satisfied, citing Kohli\u2019s consistency, fitness standards and his sustained appetite for runs. In Karim\u2019s assessment, Kohli does not need to go through additional \u201cproof\u201d at this point, because his recent performances and physical readiness have already demonstrated his value to the 2027 plans.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, Karim said Rohit will have to do the heavy lifting required to bring his case back into World Cup contention, implying that Rohit\u2019s path is more conditional than Kohli\u2019s.<\/p>\n<h2>IPL 2026 underlined the gap between the two campaigns<\/h2>\n<p>Karim used the contrasting IPL 2026 seasons as an example of why the two players are being viewed differently. Kohli was described as a key factor in Royal Challengers Bengaluru\u2019s title defence, where he produced 675 runs at a strike rate of 165.84. His contribution also included one hundred and five half-centuries, underlining the regularity of his impact.<\/p>\n<p>Rohit, meanwhile, endured a tougher run in the same season with Mumbai Indians. The franchise ended up finishing ninth, and Karim noted their limited output\u2014only 283 runs across nine innings\u2014reflecting a difficult campaign for the group and for its leading players.<\/p>\n<h2>Kohli\u2019s evolution in T20 batting impresses Karim<\/h2>\n<p>Karim also praised Kohli\u2019s willingness to reinvent his approach, even during the later stages of his career. He suggested that Kohli\u2019s T20 strike rate has risen across the past two to three seasons because the batter recognised the need to work harder to be truly effective in the format.<\/p>\n<p>Karim said Kohli\u2019s current T20 strike rate sits roughly between 170 and 180, while it was closer to 140 to 150 in the previous year. He further highlighted Kohli\u2019s habit of continuously working on his strengths, framing it as a major reason behind the improvement.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Karim concluded that whatever Kohli has achieved across Test, one-day and T20 cricket, it is fair to view him as one of the best multi-format players they have seen so far\u2014an assessment shaped by both his numbers and his ongoing drive to adapt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli\u2019s form, fitness and relentless run-scoring have given India\u2019s selectors strong confidence ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, but former India&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Saba Karim Says Rohit Still Needs Work for 2027 World Cup","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Saba Karim backs Virat Kohli for India\u2019s 2027 World Cup spot, but warns Rohit Sharma still needs work as both stars weigh their next steps.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Saba Karim Says Rohit Still Needs Work for 2027 World Cup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Saba Karim backs Virat Kohli for India\u2019s 2027 World Cup spot, but warns Rohit Sharma still needs work as both stars weigh their next steps.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/saba-karim-kohlis-world-cup-spot-secure-rohit-still-has-work-to-do\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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