After the failure of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the first ODI in Australian conditions, former cricketers have come out in their support. On the other hand, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has rejected the misconceptions that have persisted in Indian cricket over the years.
India have had just one defeat in the series, and there was already speculation that experienced cricketers deliberately underperformed so that Shubman Gill would lose the match in desperation for the captaincy, from which he has been overlooked.
These things first came to light after the removal of Rohit Sharma from the ODI captaincy, while he boasted of an excellent record of 42 wins in 56 ODI matches and being continuously unbeaten in ICC tournaments like 2023 World Cup and 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Sunil Gavaskar clarifies amid Rohit Sharma’s controversial claims of ‘deliberate poor performance’
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar, writing his column for Sportstar, mentioned the common misconception among Indians that a player can perform less than his best to avenge his humiliation from captaincy. However, what the basics don’t cross anyone’s mind is that once they are no longer the captain, they can be removed if they fail to perform well.
“A major misconception among Indian cricket fans is that if a player is replaced as captain, he will attempt to undermine the new captain by not performing to his potential. Nothing could be further from the truth, because the simple fact is that if a captain is replaced and then he does not perform, he may be completely out of the team. Therefore, no player, no matter how sad he is at losing the captaincy, can never Will also not intentionally perform poorly.”
He further added, “That misconception is still strong, with many questioning whether young Shubman Gill will be able to handle two former captains, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are part of the three-match One Day International series against Australia. Gill has tried his best to say that his equation with them has not changed just because he is the captain now.”
Sunil Gavaskar said, “They will only benefit by keeping these two legends with them.”
Although Shubman Gill’s first game as ODI captain hasn’t exactly been a great start for him, despite the presence of Indian legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he is expected to make a strong comeback.
He believes that Gill will benefit to a great extent under the tutelage of these two legends, as he can gain a lot of experience from both the former captains, who have played many times in Australian conditions.
“If anything, they will only benefit from having these two legends in their side. Both will be happy to make suggestions if asked, and what could be better for a captain leading in this format for the first time than having two of the greatest ODI players in his team?” Gavaskar said.
RO-KO legacy is unmatched for India
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are not only two big names in Indian cricket but also two modern greats of ODI cricket of this decade. He has created a legacy that is unmatched and untouched by any other player in the world.
The two players together have represented India in over 577 ODI matches (many matches have been counted twice as both were included in the XI) and have scored 25000 runs between them. They have also challenged each other many times, such as Rohit Sharma’s impressive record of three ODI double centuries and the record of most centuries for India in a World Cup edition, and Virat Kohli’s record of 50+ ODI centuries.
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