The Indian men's cricket team has entered the Gautam Gambhir era, commencing with the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July. Both batting stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who quit T20I cricket after the World Cup last month, are over 35 years old and have been named in the ODI team. How much time will they last? The two players will have to make that decision on their own terms, but Gambhir feels they "have a lot of cricket left in them" if they "can keep their fitness.".

In the same vein, newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir complimented flamboyant opening batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their outstanding showings for the senior national team, saying that they will play a key role in both ODIs and Tests moving forward. However, leaving a spot open for Rohit and Kohli to play over the 2025 season, the former India opener stated that they will be eager to give it their all for the Champions Trophy and the Test series in Australia.

I think they have shown what they can deliver on the big stage: Gautam Gambhir

"I think they have shown what they can deliver on the big stage, whether it's the T20 World Cup or the 50-over World Cup as well. One thing I can be very clear of is that both those guys have a lot of cricket left in them. More importantly, with the Champions Trophy [in 2025] and a big tour of Australia [in November 2024], obviously they would be motivated enough. And then, hopefully, if they can keep their fitness, the 2027 [ODI] World Cup as well," Gambhir said at his first press conference.

Team India's new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, started things rolling with his remark concerning the multiple rests taken by Indian players. The 42-year-old cricketer disapproved of the star batters' "pick and choose" strategy. Virat Kohli has been taking more frequent breaks and has sometimes gone away with the Indian team. In an effort to reduce his workload, Rohit has also skipped a series. When asked about the breaks taken by Virat, Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, Gambhir answered strongly in his first press conference ahead of the Sri Lankan tour.

The upcoming three matches of the ODI series in Sri Lanka are all set to feature the two legendary batters. It was already stated before that they wanted an extended break following their victory in the T20 World Cup. The two-time ICC winner was not in favour of their missing the games given the number of one-day internationals planned ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. In response to Gautam's demands, Sharma and Kohli confirmed they were ready to play.

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