Senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are still included in India’s 2027 World Cup preparations, according to recently appointed ODI captain Shubman Gill, who stated on Thursday that the team cannot overlook their skill levels and extensive experience.
Gill, the ODI pack leader who took over from a highly successful Rohit, added that he would like to form friendships, much as his legendary predecessor did during his nearly four-year tenure. The Indian Test team is already led by 26-year-old Gill.
Gill was less reticent than chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, who was evasive when asked if he believes Rohit and Kohli are part of the 2027 World Cup strategy at a recent news conference.
“Of course. The experience that they (Rohit and Kohli) both have and the number of matches that they have won for India. There are very few players who have won so many matches for India,” Gill said while fielding a number of queries on his elevation.
“There are very few players in the world who have the so much skill, quality and the experience that they have. So, in that sense, I’m very happy,” the young skipper said.
Kohli is 36, whereas Rohit is currently 38. Their appearances for India are rare because both have retired from Test and T20 Internationals. From October 19 to 25, the duo will play three ODI matches in Australia.
Gill acknowledged that he had been notified of the promotion a few days before Agarkar’s announcement of his appointment, which came after India defeated the West Indies in Ahmedabad in the first Test match.
“I’m very excited to lead my country in that format. And yes, the last few months have been very exciting for me. But I’m really looking forward to what the future has,” he said.
“I want to stay as much as possible in the present and don’t really want to look back on what I’ve been able to achieve or what we as a team have been able to achieve. Just want to look forward and win everything that we have in the upcoming months.”
Gill, who is being considered as the next all-format captain, acknowledged that he occasionally suffers from mental exhaustion.
“Physically, most of the time I feel fine. I think more than physical, sometimes there is mental fatigue. Because when you are constantly playing, there are certain expectations that I have from myself.”
“And to be able to keep up with my own expectations sometimes becomes a challenge,” said the batter who has already played 121 international games across three formats.”
“I want to play all the formats and want to succeed in all the formats for the country. And win ICC titles. So if I want to do that, then this (playing all three formats) is the challenge that I have to go through,” he added.
Gill’s rise to captaincy of the national squad has coincided with Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach. When it comes to selecting a core group of 15–18 players and rotating them, the captain believes he and the head coach are on the same page.
“Our relationship is really good,” Gill stressed.
“It’s very simple actually. We always try to have conversations around how we can make the players feel more secure and what kind of combinations that we can play.”
“We sort of want to look at 15 or 18 member squads where we are picking constantly players from that bunch and from that squad,” he said.
The necessity of having a group of fast bowlers is a major topic of conversation between them.
“We have a pool of good fast bowlers. And we want to be able to keep recruiting them so that they get enough opportunities whenever we tour South Africa, Australia or New Zealand.”
He smiled wryly when asked what type of captain he thought he was, whether he was a careful planner or an instinctual one.
“Sir, I guess this question should be better answered by my teammates,” he quipped.
