Former India head coach Ravi Shastri supported the move to name Shubman Gill as the ODI captain, even with veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma still active. Gill will lead the team for the first time in the upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia, beginning in Perth on October 14.
The 26-year-old started his international career under Kohli and rose to prominence under Rohit’s guidance. While the legendary duo has retired from T20Is and Tests over the past year, they remain available for ODIs. Speaking about Gill taking over the captaincy while Kohli and Rohit are still playing, Shastri shared his views on the LisTNR Sport podcast:
“They are looking at the future and this is what Australia did really well in the past. They wouldn’t wait till a player starts failing. They’ll be proactive like you saw with Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist, similarly Dean Jones to Steve Waugh. So India are looking ahead two years from now. Gill respects both Rohit and Virat, having played under both of them.”
Shastri also feels the upcoming tour will mark Rohit and Virat’s final appearance in Australia.
“Unless there is a series scheduled in Australia before the 2027 World Cup, this will be their ( RoKo) last time in Australia. That’ll be their last tournament ( 2027 World Cup). They are giants and will want to go out on their terms. And they’ll not want to hang around. If they are not up to it in terms of hunger and fitness, they’ll go just like they left Test cricket and T20Is.”
“Even Star Players Need To Be Challenged Sometimes”- Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri acknowledged that he often had to challenge even the top players during his tenure as head coach, citing India’s hero-worship culture and fitness issues. The former all-rounder guided the team to remarkable achievements, including consecutive Test series victories in Australia in 2018/19 and 2020/21.
“You have to challenge even the star players occasionally. Because you have to pull through in one direction so that had to be set early. That it’s we and not I. In India, there’s a lot of hero worship. There’s a lot of individual records that count so we said, ‘To hell with all that’. It is what the team does and a team victory counts more than anything else. You might get five 100s in the series but if you lose or don’t compete in the series, it’s pointless,” said Shastri (via the aforementioned source).
He further added:
“Once that message was put across and it started when MS was leading, then everything started falling in place. Even fitness standards had to improve. When you looked at Australia, England, or New Zealand, we were way behind. So we had to get up there to compete. Otherwise you’ll be kings in your backyard but the moment you go outside, you’ll be smashed. To compete outside, those levels had to rise.”
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