Irfan Pathan has added extra excitement to the buzz around India’s upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand with a bold prediction.
Irfan Pathan predicts celebration of the century between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma against New Zealand
Speaking to the media at the Mumbai airport, Pathan confidently said that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will dominate the ODI scene once again.
The former India all-rounder believes Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will hit centuries in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Vadodara. He also backed young Indian captain Shubman Gill to reach the triple-digit mark in the ODI series.
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Pathan said, “One hundred percent (Rohit and Virat will hit centuries). Rohit will also hit a century, and Shubman will also.”
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s ODI dominance
The reason behind the former India all-rounder’s confidence was both Rohit and Kohli’s dominant performance in the recent ODI series against South Africa. Kohli was in fine form throughout the three-match ODI series and finished as the top scorer with 302 runs.
He smashed two consecutive centuries and followed it up with an unbeaten fifty, displaying excellent timing, great confidence and a hunger for runs. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma also scored two half-centuries and helped India win the ODI series 2-1 against the Proteas team.
Irfan Pathan takes pity on Mohammed Shami
Meanwhile, Pathan was really disappointed with a major selection call for the upcoming ODI series against the Black Caps at home. The cricket pundit slammed the selectors’ call to once again ignore senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami for the India recall. He questioned the logic behind it.
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Shami has not played for India since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph, but he has been active and effective in domestic cricket. Shami recently played in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he played long spells and finished as Bengal’s leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets in seven matches.
He has already bowled almost 200 overs since his return, which clearly shows that his fitness is beyond doubt. With over 400 international wickets to his name, Shami’s continued absence has left Pathan worried about the Bengal pacer’s future with the national team.
What is the future of Mohammed Shami?
Pathan was quoted as saying by Revsportz: “The main talking point is Mohammed Shami. What is his future? He is not someone who came yesterday, played a few matches and left. He has taken 450-500 international wickets, which is a huge number.
If you’ve taken over 400 wickets and then you’re dropped and questions are raised about your fitness, it happens to everyone.
In fact, India are now looking beyond Shami and giving chances to young fast bowlers. In white-ball cricket, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna are supported alongside Jasprit Bumrah. During the tests, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj were also judged.
