CHENNAI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that Shubman Gill is fortunate to have Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli by his side in the one-day setup.
With about a year to go for the ODI World Cup, head coach believes that having the senior stars' assistance will help the ODI captain. The road towards the global event will begin in Thiruvananthapuram as India take on West Indies in a three-match series on Sunday.
And this series comes at a time Rohit's future has been debated while chief selector Ajit Agarkar has written to BCCI, asking to not extend his contract. One of the points of contradiction which led to strain in the relationship between Agarkar and BCCI was Rohit's place in the ODI World Cup next year.
Now, with Agarkar all but out of picture, all eyes will be on Gambhir and how he handles the ODI team. It is at this time the head coach has spoken about the influence of the senior players on Gill. "In ODIs, he (Gill) is very fortunate that he has got the likes of Rohit and Virat to help him on and off the field. Leaving out anyone in Indian cricket from the playing eleven is always going to be tough," Gambhir told JioStar.
"But when you have to do that as a young captain, it is probably the toughest job for any coach and captain to do it. So far, he has done that. He has actually ticked all the boxes," he added.
Gambhir said he was confident of things turning around for Gill in one-day cricket after India lost to England and Australia in away series and also against New Zealand at home. "I feel that he has done all the right things... he has had a bit of a tough time in one-Day cricket. But I am sure, I think things will turn around because he has done all the right things," Gambhir said.