Shubman Gill attended his first press conference as the Indian ODI captain of the team and expressed his excitement to lead legendary cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He also praised two legendary Indian cricketers.
Gill took over the Test captaincy in June before India’s tour of England. Gill, who was nowhere considering being handed the red-ball captaincy, was suddenly brought on board by coach Gautam Gambhir after Rohit Sharma suddenly retired from the format.
Following Gill’s dazzling innings as captain of the Test team, where India not only drew the series 2-2, Gill also scored 4 SENA centuries, a mammoth Test double century and reached a personal best of 750+ runs in the same series as India captain.
Shubman Gill said, “Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are among the best white-ball cricketers in the world.”
After Rohit Sharma was selected in the ODI squad for the upcoming Australia tour, one would have thought that a change in captaincy would not be made so soon by the Indian management. However, the management has made its intentions clear with the appointment of Shubman Gill as the ODI captain.
The 25-year-old is a long-term option for the Blue Team, and with their sights set on the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup, they want a captain who is already familiar with the format. Rohit’s availability till the next World Cup is under serious doubt. However, in his first press conference as Indian ODI captain, Shubman Gill praised the legendary cricketers.
Shubman Gill said, “Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are among the best white-ball cricketers in the world. The kind of experience and skills they bring to the team is huge.”
“It is a great honor to be able to lead and learn from such legends of the game” – Shubman Gill
In a moment of nostalgia, the Indian captain recalled his early playing days as a child. When he played cricket as a 13-year-old in 2013–14, he described himself as a big fan of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. In those days, Virat Kohli was continuing his dream journey in international cricket and Rohit had made a stormy comeback in the Indian team.
In 2013, in a long ODI series against Australia, Rohit scored his first double century in the ODI format, and then played an iconic inning of 264 against Sri Lanka the next year in 2014. Both were undoubtedly two of the most inspirational cricketers for India during that phase.
Shubman Gill said, “When I was a kid, I idolized both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The kind of game they played and the hunger they had inspired me. It is a great honor to be able to lead and learn from such legends of the game.”
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will keep their World Cup hopes alive only with their good form on the Australian tour.
The message from the Indian management to their most experienced cricketers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, is very clear. The team for the World Cup will be selected on the basis of the form of the batsmen in all the tournaments.
Therefore, both the batsmen, who were away from international cricket for almost 7 months, will have to get back into form immediately when they start their campaign in Australia. The first match will be played on 19 October at Optus Stadium, Perth.
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