That's Not Fair On Virat Kohli: Gautam Gambhir Slams Selectors For Not Keeping Captain Updated On Rohit Sharma's Injury
Published - 27 Nov 2020, 11:59 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:37 AM
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Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has slammed the selectors for not keeping Virat Kohli updated on Rohit Sharma’s injury. The India skipper, on Thursday, admitted that there was confusion over the availability of Rohit Sharma for the Test series in Australia, starting from December 17.
Speaking on the eve of the first ODI against the hosts, the 32-year old said that he thought Rohit would take the flight to Australia after playing in the IPL. The opener, however, returned home while the rest of the team went to Australia from the UAE.
Virat Kohli also reckoned the chances of Rohit and Ishant Sharma playing in the series would’ve increased if they, like Wriddhiman Saha, had travelled to Australia from UAE after the IPL and undergone rehabilitation there. Rohit had suffered a hamstring injury during IPL and was initially not picked for the Australia tour.
The opener went on to play the playoffs and the final, but returned to India after the tournament to continue his recovery from the injury at the NCA in Bangalore. There are question marks over his participation in the series. Ishant, on the other hand, is out of contention, the BCCI announced on Thursday.
Gautam Gambhir defends Virat Kohli:
In the wake of Virat Kohli’s revelations, the BCCI has been facing the flak for their failure to deal with the matter in a more responsible manner. And Gautam Gambhir has slammed the authorities too while defending his former teammate. The legendary batsman said that Kohli needs to be kept in loop because he is the one who faces criticism.
“That’s not right. You have to back Virat Kohli on this. He’s the captain, he’s the guy who is leading on the cricket field. He’s the guy who is going to face the criticism. He’s the guy who has got to face all the fire. So he should be always there in the mix. He should know exactly what’s happening with all the players,” Gautam Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.
“And that is the responsibility of the selectors, that is the responsibility of probably the chairman as well. Virat Kohli should always be in the loop because he is the flagbearer of Indian cricket at the moment. If something goes wrong, we end up criticising the captain a lot. So we have to back Virat Kohli if he was not given enough information about Rohit Sharma. That’s not fair on him,” he added.
