With there being no Test matches for India till they travel to England in June this year following the team's 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the national selectors now have enough time to take a call on the future of seasoned players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
In five Tests that he played, Kohli could manage only 190 runs and was dismissed eight times chasing balls outside off-stump. Rohit, on the other hand, scored only 31 runs in three Tests, before standing down from playing the fifth Test in Sydney.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir said the senior duo will take a call on their future, expressing optimism that whatever Rohit and Kohli plan would be in the best interest of the country.
I can't talk about the future of any player. It is up to them as well. But yes, what I can say is that they still have hunger and passion, they are tough people. Hopefully, they can continue to take Indian cricket forward. But ultimately, as we all know, whatever they plan, it will be for the best interest of Indian cricket.
Gautam Gambhir
But in his stint as head coach till now, Gambhir has shown the tendency to say something in the public domain and the opposite to happen soon after.
Gambhir also appreciated Rohit’s decision to opt out of the Sydney Test owing to poor form, which came after tons of speculation over unrest in the dressing room.
I would like to say that so many reports have been written and so many things have been said. At least, we can be a little more sensible in that regard.
Gautam Gambhir
If a captain, not even a captain, if a leader has taken this decision ahead of his team, then I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. So, a lot of things have been said about it. Ultimately, the individuals are sitting there, but the most important thing is the team and the most important thing is the country.
Gautam Gambhir
So, I believe that the rest of the people, whether they are starting from me or other players, everyone should keep the team ahead as compared to their individual interests, and Rohit Sharma has shown that. We were talking about accountability, and that starts from the top and Rohit Sharma started that in the last match.
Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir also said it was too early after the Australia series to think about transition in the Test squad.
Look, it is too early to talk about it. The series has just got over. I think we still have five more months to plan where we want to head towards. But it is not the right moment for me to talk about it. Where are we going to be after five months? A lot of things change in sports.
Gautam Gambhir
Form, people, and attitude change; everything changes in sport. We all know that five months is a long time. So let's see before the England series what is going to happen. But whatever will happen, will happen for the best interest of Indian cricket
Gautam Gambhir