Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, during a recent interview along with the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, revealed that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had much more cricket left in them after their brilliant performances.
Gautam recently got the position of head coach after Rahul Dravid’s tenure came to an end. He got two assistant coaches – Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate, who were associated with him during the IPL for KKR. T Dilip will continue his services as a fielding coach while Sairaj Buhutule will travel with the team as a bowling coach for the Sri Lanka series.
It was Gautam’s first interaction with the media after getting the head coach position. In that media interaction he was asked about Virat and Rohit that both of them have crossed 35 years of age and how much time both of them will be available for serving the nation, to this he replied,
“I think they have shown what they can deliver on the big stage, whether it’s the T20 World Cup or the 50-over World Cup as well. One thing I can be very clear of is that both those guys have a lot of cricket left in them. More importantly, with the Champions Trophy (upcoming in 2025) and a big tour of Australia (November 2024), obviously they would be motivated enough. And then, hopefully, if they can keep their fitness, the 2027 World Cup (ODI format) as well.
But this is a very personal decision. I can’t say how much cricket is left in them. Ultimately, it’s up to them as well, it’s up to the players. How much can they contribute to the team’s success. Because, ultimately, it’s the team that is important. But looking at what Virat and Rohit can deliver, I think they still have a lot of cricket. They’re still world-class players and obviously any team would want to have both of them for as long as possible.”
India will meet Sri Lanka in Colombo for a 6 match series (3 T20s and 3 ODIs), which will kick start from July 27th. India announced their squad for both the formats in which Suryakumar Yadav will be seen leading the T20 side whereas Rohit Sharma will be the leader in the 50-over format.