Gill banks on veteran duo for New Zealand ODIs

Returning India captain Shubman Gill believes the experience of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remains invaluable as the team gears up for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the series opener tomorrow, Gill underlined the impact of having the two modern day greats in the dressing room, particularly in high-pressure situations.

“One is one of the greatest opener of all time in ODIs and Virat bhai is one of the greatest ODI batters ever, so definitely when you have these two people in your team, it makes your life a lot more easier.

“If you are in a tough situation, they [Rohit and Kohli] always have been in those kind of situation and conditions many times in their life, so you can always go to them and see how they are thinking or what they would do and that piece of information is very valuable for any captain.”

The experienced duo have shown fiery form since their decision to focus on the ODI format last year, with Rohit averaging 69.6 while Kohli scoring at 94 runs an innings in One Day Internationals since their respective Test retirements.

Gill also addressed his omission from India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad, adding that he respected the selection call.

The batter was dropped as India favoured an attacking top-order, with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan as the contenders in top three slots.

“As a player, you have a belief that if you play the World Cup, you will win for your team, you will win for your country.

“But having said that, I respected the selector's decision, whichever decision he took, wishing the T20 team all the very best and I really, really hope that they win the [T20] World Cup for us.”

India enter the New Zealand ODIs with a settled core but have also had to navigate recent challenges, including Gill’s absence in recent months due to injury.

The 26-year-old took on the ODI reins against Australia in October, but sustained a neck injury during the first Test against South Africa the following month that also kept him away from the ODI series against the Proteas.

The young skipper admitted the period away from the field was a testing one, particularly after taking on the leadership role.

“Obviously, never easy, especially you know, whenever you get injured, watching your team play and you feel like you are missing out on all those games, especially when you have just been named the captain.

“There are so many things that you want to do and when you set out, it's definitely very frustrating, but at the same time, you just have to focus on what are the things that you need to do in that moment and kind of build on that.”

With limited ODI cricket on the calendar, Gill stressed the importance of maximising every opportunity to fine-tune combinations, especially with an ICC Men's Cricket World Cup coming up next year.

“In any series that we play, I think there is an aim or a goal behind it, keeping the [ODI] World Cup in mind, so in all the series that we play, it's very important to see the players, where the players can help us, in which condition they can help us.

“We get very few ODIs now, so whatever series we get, we try, our best combination, which combination can help us in which condition.”

India’s upcoming opponents also hold special significance for Gill historically. While still a part of the under-19 setup, he was a part of the side that won the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup in 2018. An year later he went on to make his ODI debut against New Zealand in Hamilton.

“My debut was against them and even in the Under-19s, we went to play there, so New Zealand has been always a very memorable side for me and whenever we play against New Zealand, it is something that I always cherish and I am always excited to play against them.”

India and New Zealand take on each other in the first ODI of the three-match series in Vadodara on Sunday, 11 January, following which they face-off in a five-T20I contest ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at home.