Indian veteran Virat Kohli’s equation has been business as usual with the rest of the Indian team, except the head coach, Gautam Gambhir. The two were not seen chatting, posing an imminent threat to Virat Kohli’s retention chances.
India lost the first match of the India vs Australia ODI series, which began in Perth, and are now gearing up for the next match in Adelaide. During this preparation phase, eyes are constantly on the head coach and the two veteran batters who have made their return to the Indian camp after a long time.
Although Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were seen in their usual state, laughing and smiling, advising their junior cricketers and guiding the new skipper, Shubman Gill, their equation with the Indian coach came under scrutiny.
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Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir avoid all communication during Australia tour
Virat Kohli arrived in India and joined the Indian side during their trip to Australia. He was a much-loved character for the Indian players and was quite charming in front of the dazzling dressing room. But on the other hand, his equation with former teammate and head coach Gautam Gambhir is once again under the radar.
After the defeat in the first match, and Kohli also failing to score runs with the bat, the two were supposed to be seen engaged in conversations involving the team’s tactics later in the series. However, not marking any such incident, they were not spotted for once even conversing with each other.
While this doesn’t suggest any rivalry between the two, it does weaken Virat’s chances of retaining his place if his prime doesn’t hold him over until the next World Cup. However, Rohit, unlike Virat, has been spotted alongside the head coach on several occasions.
Rohit Sharma was spotted alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal during a long batting session
Rohit Sharma, since his return to the Indian set-up, has been seen getting involved a lot alongside the young cricketers. He was seen conversing and advising the new captain, Shubman Gill, and has now been seen giving valuable batting information to youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal.
However, according to RevSportz journalist Rohit Juglan, although Rohit looks usual from the outside, he is not the same Rohit Sharma known to everyone. Juglan probably hinted at Rohit’s carefree and funky side, which we saw unleashed even at times when Rohit was struggling to get in shape.
Rohit Sharma also missed runs in the first ODI, and to add to his worry, even more than Virat Kohli, India are traveling with a third opening pick in the form of youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Pressure mounts on Gautam Gambhir to restore Kuldeep Yadav’s place in the XI
Gautam Gambhir has once again cited playing multiple all-rounders in the team as a more credible option than playing with his best XI players. He played with three all-rounders, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the first Test and had left Kuldeep Yadav out of the XI.
Kuldeep, on the other hand, has been India’s best bowler in recent times as he made a stunning comeback in India’s T20I and Test XI. Several former cricketers have once again questioned his absence and urged Gautam Gambhir to bring him back into Adelaide’s ODI squad.
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