The decision to start veteran players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the current ODI series against Sri Lanka has drawn criticism from former pacer Ashish Nehra, who was a teammate of current India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
In the three-match ODI series against the island nation, the Men in Blue, led by Gambhir, are currently down 0-1.
It was anticipated that top players will be rested for this visit because the series comes after a demanding season that featured the T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League in 2024. The key point of contention for Nehra is that Gambhir in this series failed to test out new potential.
This is unusual for us—the next series India play is in two to three months. For guys such as Rohit and Kohli, I believe there was a greater possibility to provide other players with opportunity throughout this series. It’s not like he doesn’t know the two of them, but I understand that Gambhir is a new coach and that he wants to spend some time with the more seasoned players,” Nehra stated on Sony Sports Network.
He is not a foreign coach seeking to solve his equation correctly: Ashish Nehra
The former spinner underlined that the head coach didn’t have to build a relationship with Rohit and Kohli because he already knows them. According to Nehra, the former opener is not foreign to the famous pair and is not a foreign coach.
“He is not a foreign coach who seeks to find the perfect balance between Rohit and Kohli. Thus, he had a great chance to see the new players, and Rohit and Kohli may play when the home season starts. It may have been one of the methods in this series, but I’m not saying it’s a bad strategy,” Nehra continued.
The two’s recent retirement from Twenty20 Internationals and the short ODI schedule leading up to the 2025 Champions Trophy, however, appear to have influenced Gambhir’s decision to pick them. For seasoned players in the 50-over format, this series offers invaluable match practice.
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Thus far, the outcomes have been inconsistent. While Rohit has been playing quite well, hitting multiple fifties in a row, Kohli has found it difficult to play against the spinners in Sri Lanka. Despite a great start in the chase, the team’s performance has been uneven, ending in a 32-run loss in the second game and a tie in the first. August 7 is when the series’ third match is set to take place.
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