EXCLUSIVE: ‘Don’t know why Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from T20I’, says Dubai Capitals and Afghanistan star Mohammad Nabi about RoKo

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have recently grabbed the No. 1 and 2 position in the ICC ODI rankings at the age of 38 and 37. The question on every Indian cricket fans mind is whether the incomparable duo of ‘RoKo’ can continue for the country till the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 in a couple of years.

Afghanistan legend and veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi retired from ODI at the age of 40 earlier this year after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit himself will be 40 years of age while Kohli will be 39 but the time the next ODI World Cup comes around.

In an exclusive interview to India.com from Dubai during the ILT20 2025 tournament, Nabi questioned why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli decided to retire from T20I after winning ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and believes there is no reason for them not to carry on in ODI cricket for the next couple of years.

“If Rohit (Sharma) and (Virat) Kohli are performing and the body allows them to play then why shouldn’t they play in 2027 ODI World Cup. Both are playing really well in the last few series and performing, I don’t know why they retired from T20!” Nabi said in an exclusive interview to India.com from Dubai on Wednesday.

“India’s team combination has been really good when Rohit and Kohli are playing in ODI cricket. The team looks balanced and looks stronger. They should definitely play in the next World Cup together,” he added.

 

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Nabi himself is preparing to play in his 7th T20 World Cup when the tournament takes place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 next year. The Afghanistan all-rounder turned out in third edition in 2010 as well when it was won by England in West Indies.

The Dubai Capitals star all-rounder displayed to the world that he has not lost his touch or power in the Asia Cup 2025 tournament match vs Sri Lanka. Nabi famously smashed Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage for five successive sixes in one over.

“It (my form) depends on conditions, if you have good batting conditions you have to make best use of that. That’s why I am practising a lot as a power-hitter. My performance has been really good in the last few months when it comes to my batting and also I am trying to put more focus on my batting in whichever situation my team needs me,” the 40-year-old Afghanistan all-rounder said.

ILT20 is much tougher league as compared to IPL or PSL: Mohammad Nabi

Nabi is returning to the ILT20 league after a gap of few years. He is turning out for defending champions Dubai Capitals this season.

“I played in the first season of the ILT20 and now returning to the league again and turning out for Dubai Capitals this year and it has been really enjoyable so far. Dubai is my home and I am always playing in Dubai. Afghanistan has a lot of international games, tournaments and national camps happening in UAE,” Nabi said.

Nabi, who has turned out in 145 T20 games for Afghanistan so far while scoring 2417 runs and claiming 104 wickets, believes ILT20 can be good preparation for Afghanistan cricketers in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in a couple of months.

“Not only ILT20, in every single event I will try to perform to the best of my ability. Especially in bowling and batting and before World Cup this kind of tournament helps me more and boosts my confidence. I can work on areas where I have made mistakes and improve on them and fix issues in this kind of league.

“We have another T20I series against West Indies before we head to the World Cup, it is important for me and the team to make good combination for the World Cup,” he said.

Asked to compare ILT20 to other T20 franchise leagues like IPL, the man also known as ‘Mr President’, said, “In ILT20 there are lot of international players are playing, there are about 8 foreign players in every ILT20 team and only a couple of local UAE players and one Associate players, so it makes competition really tough. In IPL and PSL you had a lot of local players only about 3-4 foreign players.”

Nabi believes Dubai Capitals strength in ILT20 2025 season lies in their quality all-rounders like himself, James Neesham, Rovman Powell, Gulbadin Naib, Dasun Shanaka and David Willey. “Dubai Capitals have a lot of all-rounders, they have a lot of different all-rounders. Depending on the opposition, it is easy to get a good combination. It’s not tough to pick a playing 11 for different conditions,” Nabi felt.

Finally asked about his goals before announcing international retirement, Nabi said, “Koi goal nahi hai, saare goals ho gaye…jab dil chaha chhod denge yaar (There are no goals, everything is fulfilled, when the heart wants I will retire). I haven’t planned or set my sight on any exact date till when I want to play, when I feel I have had enough I will announce my retirement.”