Former India pacer Ashish Nehra has raised questions over Gautam Gambhir calling up Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the Sri Lanka ODI series. The duo announced their retirements from the T20I format after the T20 World Cup triumph in June.
Gambhir's first assignment as India coach was the Sri Lanka series - T20Is and ODIs. With six ODIs to be played ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the newly-appointed coach decided to call up the old guard of the Indian batting unit - Rohit and Virat.
However, Gambhir's former teammate, Ashish Nehra believes that both Rohit and Kohli should have been rested for the upcoming home series against Bangladesh.
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What did Ashish Nehra say about Gautam Gambhir's decision to include Virat and Rohit for the Sri Lanka ODI series?
Ashish Nehra opined that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should have been rested for the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka. India are trailing 1-0, after two matches in the three-match tournament.
The former Indian speedster believed that Indian stalwarts should have been rested after a hectic T20 season. Team India's next task in hand, would be at least two months away. And in Nehra's opinion, calling the batting duo for the SL series was a bad choice.
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, Nehra said on Sony Sports Network.
MORE: Why did KL Rahul bat at number 7 in India's 2nd ODI against Sri Lanka?
Why did Ashish Nehra compare Gautam Gambhir to an overseas head coach?
Talking to Sony Sports Network, Ashish Nehra compared Gautam Gambhir to an overseas coach heading the Indian team. The 45-year-old slammed the Indian head coach's decision to try out Rohit and Virat in a bilateral tournament with not much at stake.
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, Nehra added.
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