New Delhi [India], October 20 (ANI): Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has issued a clarification after a viral social media post attributed to him regarding the 2027 ODI World Cup.

A post that went viral on X claimed that Sidhu had said, 'If India wants to win the 2027 ODI World Cup, then BCCI ( Board of Control for Cricket in India) should remove Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir as soon as possible and hand over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma again with full respect.'

Dismissing the viral quote, Sidhu hit back strongly, saying on his official X handle, 'Never said it, don't spread fake news, never imagined it. Shame on you.'

https://x.com/sherryontopp/status/1980147992721318276

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the international circuit for the first time after more than six months since lifting the Champions Trophy title on March 9.

On their return, the duo flopped with Rohit posting 8(14), while Virat returned with an eight-ball duck against Australia.

During the series opener on Sunday, Rohit, in his 500th international game, opened alongside Shubman Gill, and fans eagerly waited for him to recreate his selfless heroics. However, hopes of seeing fireworks from his bat soon started to fade when, on the final ball of the opening over, he went for an audacious across-the-line shot off Mitchell Starc, but the ball beat his inside edge.

Rohit took his revenge on Mitchell Starc in the next over with a straight drive to drill the ball for a four. However, he perished against Josh Hazlewood, after being outdone by the extra bounce and the nibbling away delivery. Rohit had a peek at it and gave away an outside edge to second slip and returned on 8(14).

Meanwhile, Virat bustled for runs but failed in each attempt. On his eighth delivery, he went for a glorious drive, but holed it out to Cooper Connolly off Starc. India limped to a total of 136/5 after rain halted the visitors' innings four times and reduced the fixture to 26 overs each. In response, Australia's stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh walloped an unbeaten 46 to steer the hosts to a seven-wicket win and their first ODI win at Perth's Optus Stadium. (ANI)