Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Mohammad Kaif said that just the mere impact that veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli brought with their presence played a huge part in India’s six-wicket win in the first ODI at Edgbaston, Birmingham. They both featured together for the first time in six months, as India recorded their first win on the tour after T20I series losses to Ireland and England recently as well.

“There was kind of a new energy as well, the seniors had returned to the team. I’m not saying that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma scored a lot of runs, but I noted their energy, even their presence on the ground made a difference. You could see Virat Kohli diving around in the covers, his body language, and his talks in the huddle,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.

READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

“Gill scoring runs in a heap in ODIs, his captaincy improving having recently led his IPL team to the final, and then having Jasprit Bumrah, all of this together has helped Team India in the match. You only move forward with the team when there is a mix of youth and experience, which we got to see here,” he further added.

Meanwhile, former India pacer Zaheer Khan also praised Shubman Gill’s decision to bring Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack against Harry Brook, a tactical move which proved to be decisive as the England captain got out for just one
run.

“When the format is different, you approach the game in a different way. India made a good comeback because Gurnoor Brar picked up those two opening wickets in a single over, and then Jasprit Bumrah was brought back. We saw a very good aspect of Shubman Gill’s captaincy there. He was being aggressive, he was thinking of going for wickets. The way Shubman Gill rotated his bowlers, I’d give him full marks for that. The way he changed Gurnoor Brar’s end, it helped him,” Zaheer Khan said.