DUBAI: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have “a lot of cricket left in them”, former India opener and Champions Trophy winner Shikhar Dhawan says, adding that the mere presence of the veteran duo can unsettle any opposition.

Kohli hit an unbeaten 100 on Sunday, his 51st ODI century, as India swept aside Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai to stand on the cusp of the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals.

Pakistan, who are hosting all of the games except those involving India, are on the brink of elimination after their second defeat of the tournament.

Rohit made a quickfire 20 at the top of the innings as India went after 242 for victory and Kohli took charge after the captain’s exit to steer the team home with 45 balls to spare.

Kohli, 36, and Rohit, 37, have struggled for form since retiring from T20 internationals after last year’s World Cup win, with speculation swirling that they could soon retire.

But Kohli rolled back the years with his first ODI century since November 2023.

“Virat standing on the crease, his presence is big. The opposition have fear in them,” said Dhawan, who is in Dubai as a tournament ambassador.

Kohli went past 14,000 ODI runs early in his innings, becoming only the third batsman to achieve the landmark after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.

Rohit struck form with a century in India’s 3-0 home sweep of England earlier this month and hit a 36-ball 41 in India’s opening win over Bangladesh.

“Recently Rohit scored an amazing century, but it’s not about a century or half-century,” said Dhawan, a swashbuckling opener who played his last ODI in 2022 and won the Champions Trophy in 2013.

“Today Rohit played a quick 20 runs, that also carries value. He created that fearless environment for the whole team,” he added.

“He’s got a great impact in early overs in today’s cricket.

“Things have changed, so now it’s good to take that risk and play aerial shots.

“We used to see it only in T20 cricket but now we see it in 50-over cricket.

“The Pakistan batsmen did not play any aerial shots, but Rohit came and took that risk, which played in India’s favour.”

Pressed on the futures of Rohit and Kohli, Dhawan said: “They have a lot of cricket left in them.”

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took a crucial 3-40 to peg back Pakistan, hailed man-of-the-match Kohli.

“There is only one big player in the team and that is Virat ‘bhai’ [brother], who played a brilliant innings,” Kuldeep said.

“Hope that I can continue performing well,” added the left-arm wrist spinner, who recently returned after hernia surgery.

“Obviously if you play good cricket, stick around with good players, and you know you have a good team with two senior players who are greats.”

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2025