Ashish Nehra slams Gautam Gambhir's decision to play Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Sri Lanka ODI series

Former fast bowler Ashish Nehra has ignited a fiery debate over the Indian cricket team's strategy under new head coach Gautam Gambhir after they lost the second ODI to Sri Lanka by 32 runs following a tie in the ongoing three-match ODI series opener in Colombo.

In a stirring critique of the Indian cricket team’s strategy, Nehra has questioned Gambhir's decision to include the legendary batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka when they were aiming to give opportunities to the freshmen.

Ashish Nehra questions Gautam Gambhir’s strategy as India falls to Sri Lanka in 2nd ODI

Speaking candidly after the embarrassing defeat in the second ODI on August 4, Nehra said that Gambhir's approach was wrong. The Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach argued that with a rare gap of 2-3 months before India’s next series, it would have been strategic to rest the experienced duo and give emerging players a chance in the ongoing ODI series in Sri Lanka.

The commentator criticized Gambhir's approach by saying that the Indian head coach missed the opportunity to explore fresh faces on the Sri Lanka tour. Nehra emphasized that the ongoing ODI series could have been an ideal platform for new players to showcase their skills, while Sharma and Kohli could have returned for the home season starting in September.

It isn't like Gautam Gambhir doesn't know Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra was quoted as saying by Sony Sports: “The next series India plays is 2-3 months later, a rare thing for us. So, for players like Rohit and Kohli, I feel there was a better chance of giving opportunities to other players during this series. I know Gambhir is a new coach, and he wants to spend some time with the experienced players, but it isn't like he doesn't know the two of them.

He is not a foreign coach who wants to get his equation right with Kohli and Rohit. So, it was a good opportunity for him to try out the new players, and Rohit and Kohli could play when the home season begins. I'm not saying it is a wrong approach, but it could have been one of the strategies in this series.”

India made a blunder by promoting Shivam Dube to the No. 4

Notably, Team India made the blunder by opting to promote all-rounder Shivam Dube to the number 4 spot while demoting the seasoned batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. Axar Patel also batted at No. 5 ahead of Iyer and Rahul.

Unfortunately, Dube's promotion backfired as he was dismissed for a duck on his fourth delivery, leaving India in a difficult situation. When Iyer (7) and Rahul (0) came in at No. 6 and 7, respectively, they were unable to turn the game around in Colombo.

However, Indian assistant coach Abhishek Nayar acknowledged that batting positions can impact performance but defended the strategy, which aimed to maintain a left-right batting combination to tackle Sri Lanka’s spin attack in the second game in Colombo.