Former India national cricket team wicketkeeper-batsman and current Gujarat Titans (GT) coach Parthiv Patel has revealed whether Shubman Gill will face any problems while leading Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in ODI cricket.
Parthiv Patel said that Shubman Gill will not have to put in any extra effort to handle Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the former Indian captain is quite mature and will provide good support to the young Punjab star.
I don’t think Shubman Gill needs to put his energy behind managing those senior players – Parthiv Patel
Rohit Sharma was recently sacked from the ODI captaincy of India, and now he is set to play under Shubman Gill in international cricket for the first time.
Earlier, Rohit had played under Virat Kohli before taking over the captaincy of all formats. Also, the last captain under whom both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played together was MS Dhoni, which was almost a decade ago.
It will be a new kind of challenge for Rohit and Kohli to play under the leadership of a 26-year-old player and Shubman Gill may also have to face the challenge of leading the senior pair.
Meanwhile, Parthiv Patel, who has shared the dressing room with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as a player and Shubman Gill as a coach, has said that the veteran duo are not characters who will create any trouble for the youngsters.
“I don’t think it will be a problem because of the character of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. You look at Virat, he became captain when MS Dhoni was playing. He knows what role a senior plays in grooming a new captain,” Parthiv Patel was quoted as saying by PTI.
“It was the same thing when Rohit became the captain. Yes, Virat was not his senior but still a former captain. Obviously, they have gone through that phase and understand the decision, which is about the betterment of Indian cricket, they both always seem mature. I don’t think Shubman Gill needs to put his energy behind managing those senior players.”
Two years is a long time and especially if you look at there are not too many ODI matches – Parthiv Patel
Talking about the future of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and whether they can participate in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, Parthiv Patel said that staying match-fit could be the biggest challenge for them as very few ODI matches are played in a year. He said:
“Two years is a long time and especially if you see there are not too many ODI matches. Like earlier times when there used to be 20-25 games a year, you get into a roll and you don’t even realize that two years have passed.
“But this is a different challenge and we are also new to this kind of challenge. The challenge is to keep ourselves match-fit.”
I definitely feel that he should play Vijay Hazare Trophy- Parthiv Patel
Recently, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had issued instructions to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to make themselves available for the Vijay Hazare Trophy to stay in the race for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027.
Parthiv Patel has now given a statement on similar lines, in which he has urged Kohli and Rohit to participate in domestic cricket competitions. He said:
“I would definitely feel that they should play the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It is not about setting such an example that ‘we have made Kohli and Rohit play the Vijay Hazare’. I would not like to think like that.
“Playing the Hazare Trophy will help his game and it will help the Indian cricket team.”
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