‘Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s experience will be valuable in Australia’

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are keen on playing the 2027 ODI World Cup but India head coach Gautam Gambhir was noncommittal over the star duorsquos future on Tuesday saying the ODI World Cup is still more than two years away and ldquoit is important to stay in the presentrdquoWith Shubman Gillrsquos appointment as the ODI skipper the national selectors have already hit the transition button in ODI cricket and there is a lot of doubt over the future of the ageing stalwarts who will be 39 Kohli and 40 Rohit respectively in 2027ldquoThe 50over World Cup is still two and a half years away It is very important to stay in the present Obviously they are quality players They are coming back Their experience is going to be valuable in Australia ldquoHopefully those two guys can have a successful tour and more importantly as a team we can have a successful seriesrdquo Gambhir said when asked about the future of the two former skippers It is believed that a lot will depend on how the duo plays in the nine ODIs in the next couple of months three vs Australia three vs SA and three vs NZlsquoPlaying domestic is importantrsquoGautam GambhirIndia head coach Gautam Gambhir wants Test specialists to play Ranji Trophy for their states to get game time ahead of the South Africa series rather than undergoing skillset training at the Centre of Excellence in BengaluruGautam Gambhir understands that there is quick turnaround as Indiarsquos T20 squad play their last game against Australia in Brisbane on November 9 and the first Test against South Africa starts on November 14 in KolkataldquoSometimes it is difficult but that is what professionalism is all about Try and use the days to the best of their ability because we know that there are very quick turnarounds especially from here to oneday cricket then T20 cricket and then what after four days back to Test cricketrdquo the coach tried explaining his rationale ldquoBut again the guys who are just part of Test cricket for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very very important Rather than just going to NCA COE and working on their skills the more they play for the Test matches it is very importantrdquo he addedlsquoShameful to target RanarsquoHarshit RanaIndia head coach Gautam Gambhir hit back at former chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth for alleging that pacer Harshit Rana has been picked for the ODI tour of Australia for being a ldquoconstant yes manrdquo to him ldquoLook itrsquos extremely shameful If you are criticising 23yearolds to run your YouTube channel that is unfairrdquo Gambhir replied to a query from PTIldquoHis father is not an exchairman of selectors or excricketer or an NRI He has played cricket on his own merit and he will continue to do so Targeting individuals is not fairrdquo a livid Gambhir saidlsquoGill deserves to be captainrsquoShubman GillAs he turned 44 on Tuesday Gautam Gambhir had more than one reason to celebrate with India completing a Test series sweep over the West Indies which was also Gillrsquos first series triumph as captainAsked how is he managing the 26yearold Gambhir was prompt with his response ldquoBy just allowing him to be himself I think no one has done him a favour by appointing him the Test captain or the oneday captain I think he deserves every bit of itrdquo Gambhir saidldquoI think hersquos worked hard He has already passed his toughest test as captain mdash that was in England five Tests away from home in tough conditions against a quality teamrdquo he addedldquoI know itrsquos tough for himand Irsquove said it many times that England was probably the toughest test for him Five Test matches over the course of two two and a half months against a quality England side What more could he have facedrdquo he askedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever