Despite being incredibly strong and almost arrogant, Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar have their hearts in the right place.
When two powerful individuals unite, the results are typically not always positive. However, history will remember their partnership as head coach and chairman of selectors for establishing “Aussie culture,” which places a high value on teamwork.
It took six Test match defeats to take action, and after Rohit Sharma was fired as India’s ODI captain, the two set a marker that a former BCCI office-bearer with a penchant for subtle humor appropriately described as “a GA-AG’ order.”
With the approval of a highly influential figure in the Indian cricket ecosystem, Agarkar and Gambhir mutually made a choice that has three components.
First, they agree that neither Virat Kohli nor Rohit are exactly part of their plan for the 2027 World Cup.
Second, the Gambhir-Agarkar team does not think that the Rohit-Kohli team can maintain form (in the case of Rohit’s fitness as well) by playing the IPL for two months and one international format sporadically.
Finally, a youthful all-format skipper offers the Indian cricket board an opportunity to establish a strong role model for the upcoming ten years.
Therefore, it is anticipated that Shubman Gill will succeed Suryakumar Yadav as captain following the T20 World Cup in India.
As with Rohit’s victory as Champions Trophy captain, the tournament’s outcome will not matter. These three factors taken together indicate that Rohit’s international career is coming to an end.
Even though Rohit and Kohli are in the same situation, Kohli’s fitness is undeniable, and his situation may not be as dire.
Although it is possible that Kohli may not be the same until 2027 either, Agarkar’s selection committee believes that he still has a chance in comparison to Rohit.
According to Gambhir and Agarkar, the idea is straightforward: excellent teams produce stars, not the other way around.
Upon closely listening to Agarkar’s news conference, it is evident that Rohit is not pleased with the decision. However, one man who doesn’t mince words is Agarkar.
“I mean that is a conversation between me and Rohit or us (selectors) and Rohit, but like I said of course it has been communicated,” Agarkar didn’t mince words in his response; it was direct.
Even if he stated that he doesn’t want to discuss the 2027 World Cup, a more detailed response regarding how tough the choice was would paint a more complete picture.
“You have got to sometimes look at what is coming forward, where you stand as a team and eventually look at what is in the best interest of the team, whether it is now or maybe six months later, those are the calls that I suppose we have to make to put (things) in place ,” Agarkar said.
Additionally, Agarkar stated that there is no sample size available to determine the performance of one-format white ball players in the future.
“Those are two really experienced guys who have been around for a long time, so they would perhaps find it a little bit alien just to play one format which is played the least, but they are probably (also) the guys to answer that and we will find out a bit more when we see them in Australia.”
Agarkar believes that only Rohit and Kohli can determine whether or not playing cricket has an impact.
“There is no doubt about their quality as players, whether not playing a lot of cricket makes a difference — one should ask them and we will find out when they play, — but it doesn’t happen too many times.
“Even if it happens, a lot of the guys these days end up playing either Test cricket or T20Is which obviously in terms of matches is a lot more than one-day cricket. Whether it is a challenge or not, we will find out and they probably will be better equipped to answer that.”
As for Gill, Agarkar isn’t concerned about burnout, given the youngster’s age and fitness.
“Hopefully not. He (Gill) is still quite young, we saw what he did in England under immense pressure, so there were really positive signs there. “You have seen his record in one-day cricket as a batter, we hope there is no burn-out although it is true there is a lot of cricket coming thick and fast over the next few months in particular.”
Right now, the only currency that Rohit and Kohli can use to be relevant in the ODI scheme of things is runs. Agarkar’s response to the question of what the committee anticipates from the duo was direct.
“What they have been doing for years — try and score runs. I don’t think that changes. We hope they keep doing it and you know you don’t have to think too far at this point,” he didn’t say much but said it all.
Rohit Sharma must end his international career on his own terms, even though it is nearing its end.
