Left-arm spinner Axar Patel stated in Perth on Friday that the towering presence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the Indian ODI team can only aid in the leadership development of recently anointed captain Shubman Gill.
Axar said Rohit and Kohli, who haven’t played for India since the Champions Trophy in March, were as good as ever after India’s second training session ahead of the opening ODI on Sunday.
Even though Rohit led India to the Champions Trophy title, Gill has taken over as ODI captain.
“For Gill, it’s perfect, Rohit Bhai and Virat Bhai are there, and along with that, they have been captains, so they can give their input also, so it is very good growth of Gill’s captaincy,” Axar told reporters in a joint interaction with Australian opener Travis Head.
“What has been good about Gill’s captaincy thus far is that he has not been pressurised.” It has been a while since Rohit and Kohli played competitive cricket but Axar said they are looking as sharp as ever.
“Like Travis said, they both are world class players. We can see after the first match (how their form is). They are professionals, so they know what to do. They have been practising in Bangalore’s Centre of Excellence, so I think they are ready to go.
“They are looking very good both in nets and fitness wise,” said the bowling all-rounder, who first visited Australia as an India player a decade ago.
Due to their extensive cricketing experience in Australia, the majority of Indian cricket players are at ease. Because they are accustomed to the conditions, Axar stated that the conversation in the dressing room is more about tackling the opposition than it is about the track’s bounce.
“I feel that since 2015 (his first visit Down Under), there have been a lot of changes. When we used to come, the talk was about pitches, conditions, bounce and we used to play less as well.
“We started playing regularly after the 2015 World Cup, and, the series started getting longer, and after that the batters started doing well,” he said.
“When we come now it doesn’t feel like Australian conditions and we have to be more ready. We are now thinking about where we can make runs, so we talk about strategy and timing, we are not talking about the pitch, we are talking about how we can strategise,” said Axar.
Having been selected by the team ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar has big shoes to fill in the series.
“I am very confident about this series. In the Asia Cup, I did well both with bat and ball. After a long time (2022 T20 World Cup), I would be playing in Australia. I am ready for the challenge,” he said.
