"Jaate jaate ek aur ICC trophy de do yaar" - Former teammate's request to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli amid 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Indian pacer Praveen Kumar urged Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to win the side at least one more ICC event before their eventual retirement. The duo recently helped India win the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA and subsequently retired from T20Is.

Rohit and Kohli have played their part in India winning back-to-back games to begin their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. While the former has led the side manfully, apart from providing quickfire starts, the latter scored an unbeaten century in India's latest win over arch-rivals Pakistan.

Talking to TOI about Rohit and Kohli's future, Praveen Kumar said:

"I am sure Rohit will lead India to a title win. He will have another ICC trophy soon. Bas yahi bolunga, Virat aur Rohit jaate jaate ek aur ICC trophy de do yaar [Virat and Rohit, give us one more ICC trophy before you retire]."

He added:

"The team is doing really well. Whether it’s batting, fielding, or bowling, India is dominating in every aspect. The best part is that every member of this team is a match winner. I would give all the credit to Rohit Sharma. He is a 'yaaron ka yaar'. He is a true team man."

Rohit and Kohli played pivotal roles the last time India won the Champions Trophy in 2013. They also finished as the top two leading run-scorers in India's final run in the home ODI World Cup in 2023.

"Is that still an issue?" - Praveen Kumar on Virat Kohli

Kohli overcame poor batting form to produce a match-winning knock against Pakistan [Credit: Getty]

Praveen Kumar slammed the critics who went after Virat Kohli for his outside off-stump issues in India's recent Test tour of Australia.

The 36-year-old was dismissed nicking balls outside off-stump in eight out of his nine innings down under as India suffered a 1-3 series defeat. Kohli had scored only the lone century in 27 matches since the start of 2024 before the latest outing against Pakistan.

"Virat is playing really well. He is a big match player. There were questions about him playing and getting dismissed to off-stump deliveries. Is that still an issue? No. Because a player like him doesn’t need many matches to make a comeback or get into the groove," said Praveen.

He added:

"He only needs one good innings, and he is never out of form. You can never say that players like Rohit and Virat are out of form. They have given Indian cricket so much."

Kohli continued breaking ODI records, scoring his 51st century and becoming only the third player to 14,000 runs in the format during the knock against Pakistan. He will play his 300th ODI when India takes on New Zealand in their final Group A match in Dubai on March 2.

Both sides have already booked their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal.