The ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka were quite important from the perspective of the Indian cricket team as they were the first assignments of new head coach Gautam Gambhir. Rahul Dravid's tenure as the head coach came to an end following the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph and Gambhir was announced right away to take over the role. The first team selection for the new head coach came with some new faces but the ODI squad included two experienced names, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. While the tour of Sri Lanka was being seen as an opportunity to try new combinations with young talents, Gambhir insisted on including Kohli and Rohit. Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra was asked about the decision and he believes that including Rohit-Virat was not the right call.
During an interaction on Sony Sports following India's loss to Sri Lanka in the second ODI encounter, Nehra said that this was a good chance to give chances to young talents and the presence of Virat Kohli as well as Rohit Sharma was not required for the ongoing series.
“The next series India play is 2-3 months later, a rare thing for us. So for players like Rohit and Kohli...I feel there was a better chance of giving opportunities to other players during this series. I know Gambhir is a new coach, and he wants to spend some time with the experienced players, but it isn't like he doesn't know the two of them. He is not a foreign coach who wants to get his equation right with Kohli and Rohit."
"So it was a good opportunity for him to try out the new players, and Rohit and Kohli could play when the home season begins. I'm not saying it is a wrong approach, but it could have been one of the strategies in this series,” he said when asked about his opinion on India's team composition against Sri Lanka.
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