The senior duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has been the flagbearer of Indian Cricket for the past decade or so. And with both of them announcing retirement from two out of 3 formats of the game, fans are eagerly waiting for them to be back in action in the 50-over game.

Also Read: Handshake controversies in cricket are more common than you think: Here are 3 more of such instances from recent history

While many thought that their return to competitive cricket would be during the final days of September, chief selector Ajit Agarkar hasn't called them up for the 3 India A practice games against Australia A scheduled to be held in Kanpur on 30th September, followed by 3rd October and 5th October.

The absence of Rohit and Kohli from the India A squad may point to a transitional phase in Indian cricket following their retirements from T20Is and Tests. Both players, however, have never indicated any intention to step away from ODIs.

Their omission from the series appears to be part of transition planning rather than a reflection of form, as their past performances in the format have remained impressive.

The BCCI's senior men selection committee on Tuesday named a 13-man squad for the first Practice ODI against Australia A, followed by a 15-man Squad for the last 2 games.

Rajat Patidar is set to take up the captaincy responsibility for the first ODI and will be the deputy to Tilak Varma for the next two matches.

Priyansh Arya and Simarjeet Singh won't feature in the last 2 games and will be replaced by Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, who all will be returning from International duty.

INDIA A Squad for 1st Match: Rajat Patidar (Captain), Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (WK), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh.

INDIA A Squad for 2nd & 3rd Match: Tilak Varma (Captain), Rajat Patidar (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (WK), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh.

BCCI Getting Ready For Life Without Kohli-Rohit

But all eyes were on the exclusion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who after the conclusion of IPL 2025, that saw the former finally get crowned Champion with Royal Challengers Bengaluru haven't played a single minute of international level cricket.

Many could argue that for them to play 3 practice games ahead of India's tour of Australia would put them in their best condition for the series. But earlier this week, a BCCI official had confirmed, "See, it's highly unlikely that they will play the three India A games. No call has been taken on that, and it will not be forced upon them either. Only if they need some game time, you could see them play one or even two games before the Australia ODIs. But nothing has been finalised yet. They are very much fit and available for the Australia ODIs."

This would mean that the duo who have passed the mandatory pre-season fitness tests, Rohit at BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and Virat in London, will play International cricket not before 19th October.

There have been many rumours surrounding their retirements from ODIs, which some speculate could be announced after the tour of Australia. And the way things are going, the BCCI may be preparing the team for a life without the talismanic duo with the 2027 World Cup in mind.