Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were the driving forces behind India’s surge, helping the team win three of their last four ODIs, including a 2-1 series victory at home against South Africa. Their flurry of half-centuries not only reaffirmed their status as ODI greats but also quietened the chatter around their international futures, talk that many experts now insist was never in doubt. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir hasn’t shifted his stance. He reiterated his World Cup message and stressed that young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad must make the most of their opportunities in the lead-up to the ICC tournament two years from now.
Kohli and Rohit returned to competitive action in October in the tour of Australia, and have since featured in six ODI matches. Kohli has been the leading Indian run-getter during this period, scoring 376 runs at a strike rate of 107.12, with two centuries and two fifties. Rohit, on the other hand, stands second with 348 runs with two fifties. No other teammate has managed to even breach the 200-run mark.
“They are world-class players and their experience is important in the dressing room. They’ve been doing it for a long time. Hopefully, they can continue doing the same, which is going to be important in the 50-over format,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference after India beat South Africa by nine wickets in the series decider.
Kohli and Rohit scored a fifty each in the match, with the former being named as the Player of the Series. Rohit had collected the same trophy during the tour of Australia. However, when Gambhir was asked to revisit his claim on their World Cup chances, he did not change his tune. In fact, he quickly shifted focus on Gaikwad and Jaiswal – who managed a century each in the series against South Africa.
“First you got to realise that the ODI World Cup is two years away. It’s important to stay in the present, and that young boys coming into the set-up grab their opportunities.”
“Someone like Rutu (Gaikwad) has batted out of position, but he’s a quality player. We wanted to give him an opportunity in this series, because of the kind of form he was in with India A. And he grabbed that opportunity with both hands when we were under pressure. Getting that kind of a 100 was proper quality. And Yashasvi as well, we’ve seen how much quality he has, especially in Test cricket. It’s just the start of his career, especially in white-ball cricket. Hopefully he has a massive future ahead and so does Rutu.”
The two youngsters aren’t yet India’s mainstay options in the ODI format, and only bagged the opportunity after regular leaders – Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer – were ruled out with their respective injuries. Jaiswal, usually the back-up opener, assumed Gill’s role and scored a ton in the third game. Gaikwad, primarily an opener, was sent at No. 4, where he scored a century in the second game and forged a 195-run stand with Kohli.
“Try and give them opportunities wherever we can, because we want a reasonable group of players – probably around 20-25 – before the World Cup. Whenever we are able to give them opportunities, we’ll do so. But once your captain and vice-captain are back, obviously they are your starters. They (Gaikwad and Jaiswal) should be ready whenever they get that opportunity,” Gambhir added.
India will play their next ODI fixture in January next year, against New Zealand at home.
