‘They still have a strong desire to play for the country and give something good to it,’ said Gautam Gambhir.
Despite struggling with the bat in recent times, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remain highly valuable to Indian cricket, according to Gambhir. The Indian coach believes that the two experienced batsmen will play crucial roles in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Rohit has only managed one fifty in his last 15 innings in Tests. During India’s recent tour of Australia, he scored a total of just 31 runs from five innings. After returning to domestic first-class cricket, following the board’s guidelines, the Indian captain also failed to make an impact, scoring 3 and 28 in his Ranji return after 9 years.
Kohli’s form has been similar. He scored a century in the first Test against Australia, but in the next eight innings, he accumulated only 90 runs. Prior to that, in the series against New Zealand, he made 70 in one innings but only managed 23 in the next five. He didn’t score a single fifty in four innings against Bangladesh either. Returning to the Ranji Trophy after 12 years, Kohli could only manage 6 runs in his lone innings.
The Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE will be held in the ODI format. Kohli has two centuries in his last seven innings in this format, both during the 2023 World Cup. However, he didn’t cross thirty in any of the three ODIs he played last year. Rohit, on the other hand, scored two fifties in the three matches against Sri Lanka, and in his last seven innings, he has three fifties and three scores in the forties.
At the BCCI’s annual awards ceremony in Mumbai on Saturday, Gambhir expressed his optimism about Kohli and Rohit’s performances in the Champions Trophy.
‘I believe both Rohit and Virat bring a lot of importance to the dressing room, and that’s true for Indian cricket as well. They will have a huge role to play in the Champions Trophy.’
‘I have said this before; these guys are still very hungry. They want to play for the country and have a strong desire to give something good to the nation.’
