Despite the pair’s prolonged slump in form, Indian coach Gautam Gambhir thinks Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have a ‘massive role’ to play in India’s Champions Trophy campaign. Speaking at the annual BCCI awards, the Indian coach said that the duo is ‘hungry’ to perform for the country, which is why they add value to the team.
“I think both Rohit and Virat, they add so much value to the dressing room. They add so much value to Indian cricket as well. They’ve got to play a massive role (in the Champions Trophy). And I’ve said it before as well, those guys are so hungry, they want to play for the country. They have the passion to play for the country and deliver for the country.”
Placed in group A, India will play their group-stage game against teams like Bangladesh, New Zealand, and their arch-rivals Pakistan. In their last two mega-events, the Indian senior men’s team exceeded expectations by winning one and capping the other as the runner-up. However, the margin of error, as India’s coach already knows, is extremely slim in the Champions Trophy.
“The Champions Trophy is a completely different challenge as compared to the 50-over World Cup because literally every game is a make-or-break, so you can’t stop anywhere in this tournament. So hopefully we’re going to start off really well, because ultimately if you want to go on and win the competition, you have to win five games.”
India will begin their campaign with a game against Bangladesh in Dubai, following which they will face their arch-nemesis, Pakistan, in a contest that has never failed to thrill the spectators. When asked how prepared the team is for the contest against Pakistan on February 23, Gambhir said the side’s focus is on all five fixtures, though he acknowledged the emotions involved will be skyrocketing in the Indo-Pak clash.
“Look, we don’t go to the Champions Trophy thinking that the 23rd is the most important game for us. I think five games, all the games are important. The mission to go to Dubai is to win the Champions Trophy, not only win one particular game. But yes, if that is one game in the middle of winning the Champions Trophy, we’re going to try and take it as seriously as possible.”
“And more importantly, I think when two countries, India and Pakistan, play against each other, obviously the emotions are really high, but ultimately the contest remains the same.”
India are scheduled to play all of their games, including the semi-final and final if they make it that far, in the United Arab Emirates after their government denied them permission to travel to Pakistan citing security concerns. Currently, the Indian team is playing a white-ball series against England as a build-up to the eight-team tournament. With a game to go, India have already won the T20I series by 3-1. Gambhir praised the T20I skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, for his selfless and fearless game plan in the shortest format of the game.
“Me and Surya have been on the same page when we talk about selflessness and fearlessness. But yes, we want to be more smart going forward, because that is how we’re going to grow as a T20 team, and hopefully in all the other formats as well.
But I think the guys have been absolutely phenomenal. They’ve got the skills, they’ve got the temperament, they’ve got all the ability. And what they’ve done in the last six months, I think that’s been incredible.
I think the foundation of this T20 team was based on two principles. That is selflessness and fearlessness. I think that is something which we want to create in that dressing room, and these young boys have responded really, really well.”
Back-to-back defeats in the Test series against New Zealand and Australia had put the Indian team in a difficult position, however, their recent outings against England have blown some hope in the fans ahead of the mega-event.
