'Tell me how many times?' - Former Indian opener asks major question from team India in the build-up to ODI World Cup 2023

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has asked senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to play ODIs regularly.

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Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (Source: Twitter)

The year 2023 marks a decade of India’s major trophy drought. The ‘Men-in-Blue’ last won a world title under the leadership of MS Dhoni when they won the Champions Trophy in 2013. Since then India have consistently reached the knockout stage of almost every world tournament but failed to clinch the title. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has highlighted one of the major reasons for India's below-par outings in the last two World Cups i.e the frequent breaks taken by top players like captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and other senior players.

With the ‘all-important’ ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in India later this year, Gambhir said India need to build a core and make sure they play every match before the mega event. Calling workload management 'the biggest mistake in Indian cricket' in the last couple of years or so, the former left-handed batter said taking breaks from ODIs is not an option this year.

"They got to play together. I think the biggest mistake that Indian cricket has made in the last two World Cups has been that these guys have not played enough cricket together. Tell me how many times have we got the best playing 11 on the park? We haven't, only during the World Cup we decided to have the best playing 11, but unfortunately, that was never the best playing 11,” Gambhir said on Star Sports show ‘Road to World Cup Glory’.

“So these guys have to play enough of white ball cricket, especially for the 50 overs World Cup together irrespective of whether they want to take a break from the T20 or from the Indian T20 League," he added.

Gambhir also spoke on how India's ODI World Cup squad has to be selected in terms of approach and template in the 50-over format of the game. “First, you need to identify the players who have that fearless approach and probably in a format like 50 overs you need to have a mixture of every kind of player. There are players who can anchor their innings,” the 41-year-old further said.

“Change in the role has also made a huge difference. During that time we had only one new ball, now we've got two new balls with five fielders inside. So, the role of a part-timer has gone out of the window. The reverse swings, you don't see enough reverse swings anymore, and you don't see enough of the chase for the finger spinners as well,” added the 2007 and 2011 World Cup winner.

You've got to identify players who can adapt those roles: Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir said Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will have a major role to play in India's ODI World Cup campaign. Moreover, it could also turn out to be their last major 50-overs tournament.

"I always feel that when we talk about this new approach, which India always talks about, the template and stuff, you've got to identify players who can adapt those roles or that template very easily. Some people just cannot adapt to that template so why push them to play in a certain way which doesn't come naturally to them,” said Gambhir.

“So, for me, I think identifying players and at the same time getting the right mix is very important, rather than thinking that we have to play at a certain template so we got to select all the 15 with a similar mindset or with a similar template. I feel people like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and all those guys who can anchor their innings, who probably can play spin really well will play a massive role in the coming World Cup,” he concluded.

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