Rohit Sharma's best friend predicts a tough future for Virat Kohli and Indian captain under Gautam Gambhir

Team India will be starting a new journey in the ODIs from next month. It will be their first series under newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir.

The Men in Blue are scheduled to play three ODIs against Sri Lanka. Before the ODIs, the Indian team will also play three T20Is against the Islanders. Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the team in the T20Is after replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain. While Hardik Pandya was expected to become the captain after Rohit's retirement, the BCCI has handed the responsibility to Suryakumar.

As far as the ODI series is concerned, India will be almost at full strength for the assignment. It was expected that most of the senior players would be rested for the series. However, captain Rohit as well as his predecessor and most of the other first-choice players have been named in the series. According to reports, Rohit and Kohli agreed to play the series due to Gautam Gambhir's request as it would be his first ODI assignment.

Pragyan Ojha on Rohit, Kohli playing Sri Lanka ODIs:

With Rohit and Kohli agreeing to play the ODI series against Sri Lanka, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha believes it is a good sign for Indian cricket. The former spinner said the decision shows that the senior players and the head coach are on the same page.

Pragyan Ojha said that Rohit and Kohli honored Gambhir by agreeing to play the series. He also said that such an environment in the dressing room is beneficial for the team.

"How India will move forward, how Virat and Rohit will look at themselves. Because it is a Champions Trophy, after that, we are talking about the World Cup in 2027, how to reach there, and what to do, so that road map will be made. And the best thing is that the clarity of communication will be very good.

Because Gautam Gambhir, Virat, and Rohit played a lot of cricket together. They know each other very well. We were hearing that perhaps Virat and Rohit will take a break from ODI. But Gautam Gambhir was starting his tenure, so he talked and gave clarity about his thoughts," Pragyan Ojha was quoted as saying by Sports Tak.

"So both the senior players honored him. So this is a good thing. This shows that there will be clarity in the team. The coach, captain, senior player, the core team, when they think in one direction, you get a good team. When you see the clarity in the team, you think the team can win," he added.

Meanwhile, the ODI series between India and Sri Lanka is scheduled to get underway on August 2 in Colombo. It will be their first ODI assignment of the year. India last played an ODI series in December last year when Suryakumar led the team against South Africa while the likes of Rohit and Kohli were rested. Rohit and Kohli last played an ODI during the 2023 World Cup.