Recently, ex-pacer Ashish Nehra took a dig at India head coach Gautam Gambhir for including him in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka, saying Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should not have played just to prolong their records. Under skipper Gautam Gambhir, the Men in Blue have been trailing 0-1 in their ongoing bilateral ODI series against the island nation, currently playing a three-match series.
The series comes right after a demanding season that saw the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup, with the home season now very hectic. Hence, many had expected that the senior players, including Rohit and Kohli, would not be playing this tour. Chiefly, Nehra said Gambhir has missed an opportunity to try out new talent in the series.
“We play in the next series after 2-3 months, which is a seldom thing for us. So for players like Rohit and Kohli. I feel there was a better chance of giving the other players their opportunity. I know Gambhir is a new coach and he wants to spend some time with the experienced players, but it isn’t like he doesn’t know the two of them,” said Ashish Nehra on Sony Sports Network.
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The former fast bowler said that Gambhir, who already knows the abilities of Rohit and Kohli, did not need to develop a new rapport with them.
“Gambhir is not some foreign coach who needs to get familiar with Rohit and Kohli. He could have used this series to blood some new guys and rested Rohit and Kohli for the home season,” Ashish Nehra said.
“He is not a foreign coach who wants to get his equation right with Kohli and Rohit. So, it was good opportunity for him to try out the new players and Rohit and Kohli could have played when home season begins. I’m not saying it’s wrong approach, but it could have been one of the strategy in this series,” Ashish Nehra added.
However, Gambhir has seemingly factored in the recent retirement from T20Is and the mere presence of a few ODI games leading into the 2025 Champions Trophy while picking this experienced duo. This series represents some much-needed match practice for two seasoned players in the 50-over format.
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The results so far have been mixed. While Rohit has been in excellent form, notching consecutive fifties, Kohli has been at sea against the Sri Lankan spinners. The team’s performance has also been patchy; an nail-biting tie in the first match followed by a 32-run defeat in the second after the team lost its way in the chase having got a good start. The third and final fixture of the series is slated for August 7.
