"I used to idolize them": Shubman Gill brags about captaining Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli in ODIs
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Shubman Gill attended his first press conference as the team's Indian ODI skipper and has expressed his excitement to lead great cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He has also heaped immense praise on the two legendary Indian cricketers.
Gill took over the Test captaincy back in June ahead of India's tour to England. Gill, who was nowhere in the thoughts for being handed the red-ball captaincy, was suddenly brought on board by coach Gautam Gambhir following Rohit Sharma's sudden retirement from the format.
After Gill's shining knocks as the skipper of the Test side, where not only did India draw the series 2-2, but also Gill reached a personal best of 4 SENA hundreds, a massive Test double-century, and 750+ runs in a single series as the skipper of India.
"Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are both among the best white-ball cricketers in the world," said Shubman Gill
After Rohit Sharma was picked in the ODI squad for the upcoming tour to Australia, one would have thought that such a quick change in captaincy would not be made by the Indian management. However, the management made their intentions very clear with the appointment of Shubman Gill as the ODI captain.
The 25-year-old is the long-term option for the Men in Blue, and with eyes set on the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup, they want a skipper who could be exposed to the format beforehand. Rohit's availability till the next World Cup is under severe doubt. However, Shubman Gill, in his first press conference as the Indian One-day captain, has only heaped praises on the veteran cricketers.
Shubman Gill said, “Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are both among the best white-ball cricketers in the world. The kind of experience and skill sets that they bring to the team is massive.”
"It's a big honour to be able to lead such legends of the game and learn from them” - Shubman Gill
In a moment of nostalgia, the Indian skipper turned to his early playing days as a kid. When he played cricket back in 2013-14 as a 13-year-old kid, he revealed himself to be a huge Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fan. Virat Kohli was continuing his dream run in international cricket during those days, and Rohit had made a storming return to the Indian team.
In 2013, in a long ODI series against Australia, Rohit scored his maiden double-hundred in the ODI format, and then played the iconic knock of 264 against Sri Lanka the next year in 2014. The two were undoubtedly two of the most inspirational cricketers for India during that phase.
Shubman Gill said, “When I was a kid, I used to idealize both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The kind of game they used to play and the type of hunger they had was something that inspired me. It's a big honour to be able to lead such legends of the game and learn from them”.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to keep World Cup hopes alive only with decent form on the Australian tour
The message has been very clear from the Indian management to their most veteran cricketers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The team selections for the World Cup will be done only based on the batters' form across tournaments.
Hence, the two batters who have been absent from international cricket for around 7 months will have to return to immediate form as soon as they begin their campaign in Australia. The first match will be played on the 19th of October at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
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India National Cricket Team Australia National Cricket Team India vs Australia Shubman Gill Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli
