NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were the standout performers in India's 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa, capped by a dominant nine-wicket victory in Vizag on Saturday.Kohli claimed his 20th Player of the Series award in international cricket - the most by any player - following a stellar display with the bat, amassing 302 runs in three matches, including back-to-back centuries. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 👑Virat Kohli raises the bar yet again! 📈One word to describe his performance this series? ✍️#TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/rxUODgANN6— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2025Rohit, meanwhile, contributed with two fifties in the series and further cemented his form, having previously been named Player of the Series against Australia Down Under.Yet, India head coach Gautam Gambhir downplayed the hype around the legendary batters' chances of playing in the 2027 World Cup, saying they were "just doing what they've been doing for such a long time.""They're world class players and doing what they do," Gambhir said while addressing press conference. "They've been doing it for such a long time for Indian cricket. Hopefully, they can continue doing the same, which is always going to be important come the white ball format and the 50-over format."‘Stay in your lane’: Gautam Gambhir hits back at split coaching criticsGambhir emphasizes that the ODI World Cup is still two years away, so players - even experienced ones - should concentrate on current matches and performances rather than worrying too far ahead."First you got to realize that the ODI World Cup is two years away. It's important to stay in the present, and that young boys coming into the set-up grab their opportunities."Gambhir also lauded the contributions of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, both of whom scored centuries after stepping in as injury replacements for Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer."Someone like Rutu, who's batted out of possession, but he's a quality player, we all know. But we wanted to give him an opportunity in this series, because the kind of form he was in with India 'A'. And he actually grabbed that opportunity with both hands, getting a 100 in the second game when we were under pressure. We were 40 for 2, then getting that kind of 100 was proper quality. And Yashasvi as well, we've seen how much quality he has, especially what he does in Test cricket. And obviously, it's just the start of his career, especially in white ball cricket. Hopefully, he has a massive future ahead, and so does Rutu."