New Delhi [India], February 4 (ANI): As the journey to the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup is in progress, India's World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni backed ODI-exclusive stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to continue playing ODIs as long as they are fit and performing, saying that 'age is not a criteria'.

Dhoni was speaking at an event, of which a video is posted on reputed commentator and presenter Jatin Sapru's official YouTube handle. Following their retirements from Test cricket in May last year, there is a lot of scrutiny over Rohit and Virat in every match they play, given the lack of ODIs in a calendar year as years progress and the big gaps between the series they feature in, making it important for them to play domestic cricket to keep their rhythm and match-readiness in check.

Speaking during the programme, Dhoni said, 'Why not? (on Rohit and Virat playing the ODI World Cup 2027). The thing is, why somebody should not play the next World Cup? You know, for me, age is not a criteria. Performance, fitness, these are the criteria. So I always feel nobody should be told anything. But the thing that should be made clear is that everyone will be treated the same way. When I was when I made my debut, I was 24. So nobody came and told me anything. So now if I am playing for India for one year, two years, ten years, twenty years, whatever, nobody needs to come and tell me about my age. Is age a factor? No.'

'Fitness factor? Yes. Fitness is a factor. Even if you are 22 and if you are not fit, you know then you have to be fit there criterias of playing international cricket. The whole thing is just because somebody is in their 30s, whether they can play or cannot play the next World Cup, it is not for us to decide. It is for them to decide. If they keep performing, if they have the urge to do well for the country, then why not? How do you get experienced people? You cannot get a 20-year-old who's experienced unless it is Sachin Tendulkar, who started playing at age 16 or 17. This is the way you can gain experience,' he added.

'Thala' also said that experienced players are the ones in their 30s and playing 20-25 matches cannot be considered as experience.

'If people are performing, they will be there, otherwise not. If they are not fit, you can chuck them out,' he signed off.

Rohit and Virat made their return to the team during the ODI series in Australia. Virat has been on an unstoppable run after starting off the series in two successive ducks. On the other hand, Rohit has also performed more than enough to keep himself in the race, even though the ODI series against NZ was a disappointing one for him as he scored just 61 runs in three innings with the best score of 26. They also played two Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) matches for their states, Mumbai and Delhi respectively, keeping their World Cup dream alive by performing at the state level too, sharing their storehouse of experience with Indian cricket's next generation.

Since the Australia tour, Virat has featured in nine ODIs, scoring 616 runs in nine innings at an average of 88 and a strike rate of 106.39, with three centuries and three fifties each. On the other hand, Rohit has scored 409 runs in nine innings at an average of 51.12, with a strike rate of 91.12, including a century and three fifties.

After months of T20 cricket experience with the T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) coming, the next time they would be seen in Indian colours would be from July 14 onwards for a three-ODI tour to England. (ANI)