BENGALURU: One year out from the 50-over World Cup is when teams usually start shedding flab and separate the chaff from the grain. This is truer in the modern context where so many ODIs tend to exist for the sake of honouring rights deals and feeding the content machine. One elite side, though, have adopted the opposite approach. From the morning of November 20, 2023 — less than 24 hours after losing the World Cup finaL — they zeroed in on the next one. The captain was changed, plans were being put in place, but the awkward question of what to do with two of their stalwarts in this form of the game was left unanswered then.
However, over the last year, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have answered that question more than once. They want that stage to be their farewell. But they are also hyper aware that no serious cricket board will allow the World Cup to become a farewell tour irrespective of the identity of the players. It's why the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning in Auckland from Wednesday, assumes a lot of importance. In isolation, this bilateral series will also be like most series in this format. But zoom out a bit and it becomes apparent that there's a lot riding on this one.
There will be similar conditions on offer in South Africa, the primary hosts of next year's World Cup (same hemisphere, extra bounce, some movement and an early start to the cricketing season). Most of what India do in ODIs from a batting perspective revolves around their top-order getting ahead of the eight ball in the powerplay. And they have been ridiculously successful at it. It's why all three of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have struck at over 100 in this format since November 20, 2023. Considering the trio embrace a more enterprising, expressive approach, logic states that they wouldn't be consistent. But they are also the only top-order batters to average over 50 in the time period (minimum= 25 games).
You can have your own doubts about whether Kohli and Rohit's output will stay the same till the 2027 World Cup, but you cannot ignore recent history. Gill, during the pre-series press conference, was categorical in his assessment about the top-order. "Top four is pretty much set," he said. "We are all right-handed batters (going by his words, Shreyas Iyer will bat No. 4, at least to start the series). Very happy with the top and middle-order."
Because the skipper also suggested that they will use this series as a build-up to the big one in 2027, it's fairly safe to say this top-order is their Plan A. "(The World Cup) would definitely be at the back of our minds," the opener said. "Playing in conditions that are going to be a lot more similar to South Africa than some of the other countries where we would be playing. So, keeping that in mind, getting that experience for our bowlers, batters, and also I think the weather playing around this time... it wouldn't be as hot in South Africa as playing in December or January. This experience is going to help us."
Which is why the 27-year-old had wished that the multi-format tour, India's first in a very long time, had begun with the ODI leg. "Both (ODI and Test series) are very important. If it was in my hands and all the players were fit, I would have liked to have all the players who we are looking at playing during the World Cup (for the full ODI series), but the two Test matches are also very important.
"If it had been one-day first, then T20, and then Test, we could have played all five (ODI) matches (with our strongest squad), but (we couldn't do this) because the gap between the one-day [series] and Test matches was very small."
Even as the likes of Gill and KL Rahul will leave after the third game, Kohli and Rohit will be there for all five games. For them, this is it, the beginning of the end. The last few chapters. And they have it within themselves to script a golden ending.