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India head coach Gautam Gambhir has come out in defense of his senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, stating that the hunger factor in both still remains intact. Rohit and Kohli have notched up one Test half-century each in 10 innings of this domestic season, while the team has also slipped behind in the race for the WTC final after losing 0-3 to New Zealand in the same period.
While Rohit has scored only 133 runs at an average of 13.30 with only one score of 25+ in these ten innings, Kohli scored 192 runs at an average of 21.33 during the same period. In the meanwhile, India lost a Test series for the first time at home in the last 12 years and suffered its first-ever whitewash at home.
Gambhir’s view on seniors who have been receiving a lot of criticism
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When Gambhir was asked if he was worried about Rohit and Kohli, he said: “Not at all. They are very strong individuals and have done a lot for Indian cricket and will continue to do so. For me, the most important thing is that they still work hard and are passionate about the game. They still want to achieve a lot, which is the most important thing. It is very important to have hunger in the dressing room and I think this hunger has increased even more since the last series.”
Kohli’s last Test century was 16 months back against the West Indies. During the last five years, he only has two hundred and a batting average of 32.
Kohli is 36, Rohit is 37, while Ashwin and Jadeja have crossed 38 and 36 respectively. In this situation, Gambhir was asked how he is looking at this transition phase.
Gambhir said, “Honestly, I am not even thinking that the team is in a transition phase. Right now, the only thing on my mind is the five Tests against Australia. You guys are talking about transition, but these guys still have a lot to achieve in the future. For me, they still have a lot of hunger left and you guys should never doubt their passion for the country. Transition keeps happening in Indian cricket, but for now, these five Tests are very important.”
Gambhir admitted that his team had not played well in the last series, but this was going to be a new challenge for them on this tour of Australia.
The first and biggest challenge will be conditions, he said. If we get good preparation in the coming 10 days, then we will be ready to do well in the series. There are some experienced players in our team who have toured Australia. Their experience will be useful for the new players. These 10 days are very important, but on the morning of the 22nd, we will be fully prepared for the first ball itself.
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