Considering their recent performances at the Champions Trophy 2025, former Australian cricketer Shane Watson has backed Indian veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to continue leading India's batting attack in the ODI and Test formats of the game. Both legends were very impressive in the tournament (champions trophy), recording dazzling scores. 

Virat Kohli was India's second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 218 runs, while Rohit Sharma capped off the tournament with 205 runs. Kohli helped the side in their victory against Pakistan, bringing up a match-winning 84-run knock unbeaten. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, played a marvellous knock in the final against New Zealand, scoring a crucial 76-run knock. 

“Those guys are still batting incredibly well. So, Virat, how well he batted during the tournament, the runs he got, he still is the best chaser that’s ever played the game of ODI cricket. And we saw how well he’s batting. And Rohit, in the final, that was an amazing innings against the New Zealand bowling attack,” Watson told Hindustan Times.

“… if those guys are still batting as well as they are, and they still feel the energy and the fire still burning so brightly to play for India, then absolutely, that will keep out the younger guys coming through because they’re that good,” he added.

Watson also admired the duo’s ability to perform under pressure. Watson highlighted as to how the duo step up when it matters the most. 

“They know how to perform under pressure, like we saw in the Champions Trophy. A knockout, really, nearly a knockout tournament, and they played incredibly well, especially when the team needed it the most. If those guys want to keep playing, then it’s just the younger guys who are coming through, then they need to really bash down the door. And the only way to do that is scoring a crazy amount of runs and doing extraordinary things if they want to even try and push their way into that Indian team,” Watson said.