Gavaskar Suggests Kohli, Rohit‘s Australia ODI Return Motivated by World Cupโ Final Loss
Former India batting legendโค Sunil Gavaskar has โsparked debate โby suggesting that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s availability for the upcoming ODI series against Australia โฃis driven by India’s defeat to the same opponent in the 2023 โขWorld Cup final.โค
Gavaskar stated he believes the duo would not have made themselves available had the series been against teams like zimbabwe or the West Indies. “I’mโค prettyโ certain that if this were a trip to Zimbabwe or the West Indies, both ofโค them would not have been available. But asโค this is in Australia, and because India lost to โฃAustralia in the World Cup โfinal, maybe that is the reason why both of them have decided, yes, I want to be available โfor this,” heโ told โฃIndia Today.
The pair were named โin the squad by BCCI’s chief selector Ajit agarkar on Saturday,marking their first return to โฃinternational cricket since the Champions Trophy in the UAE earlier this โyear.While โขAgarkarโค did not confirm their inclusion in World โCupโข plans, he indicated their performance in the Australia series would be a significantโฃ factor.
Gavaskar acknowledged the challenge facing Kohli and Rohit in securing aโค spot for future World Cups,โข emphasizing the limited number of ODI matches scheduled.”It’s not easy to be playing just seven or eight ODIs in a season while preparing for something as big as a World Cup,” he said, noting the imbalance between ODI and T20 commitments.
He โalso echoed โagarkar’s sentiment, suggesting participation in the vijay Hazare Trophy โis โขcrucial for โmaintaining match practice.โ “They will have to play the โVijay โคHazare Trophy in India whenever it’s scheduled,โค if it doesn’t โขclash with any international ODIโข tournaments. โThat’s one way to stay in โฃtrim and maintain โmatch practice,” Gavaskar โadded.
