Gambhir Criticized for Missed Opportunity with Kohli-Rohit Swap: 'You're not a foreign coach needing to perfect your chemistry'

The usual strategy in a bilateral series is to stick with a fixed playing XI for the initial matches, establish a lead, and then experiment with the bench strength. However, if a team finds itself trailing early on and facing a must-win situation, the focus may shift to prioritizing the best performing players. The Indian team is currently confronted with this dilemma as they prepare to face Sri Lanka in the crucial final ODI match in Colombo. After being held to a tie in the opener and suffering a 32-run loss in the second match, India may need to reconsider their approach and field their strongest team to clinch the series victory. Testing the bench strength may have to take a back seat in this do-or-die situation.

India did not change their playing XI for the second game, meaning the likes of Rishabh Pant, Khaleel Ahmed, Riyan Parag, and Harshit Rana are yet to make an appearance in the series. Should they be included the playing XI for the third match, Harshit and Riyan would be making their ODI debuts. On the other hand, Pant awaits his first game in the format since December 2022, and as for Khaleel, he has been absent from ODIs since 2019.

On Sunday, after the end of the second ODI match, former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra was asked on Sony Sports whether he expects new head coach Gautam Gambhir to make any changes to India's playing XI. While he did not get into the specifics, Nehra reckons the former India World Cup-winner got his strategy wrong by getting the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play in the series, when the approach should have been to focus on the fresh faces. He felt the two experienced batters were not required for the contest and could have rather prolonged their break to resumed at the start of the home season in September.

“The next series India play is 2-3 months later, a rare thing for us. So for players like Rohit and Kohli...I feel there was a better chance of giving opportunities to other players during this series. I know Gambhir is a new coach, and he wants to spend some time with the experienced players, but it isn't like he doesn't know the two of them. He is not a foreign coach who wants to get his equation right with Kohli and Rohit. So it was a good opportunity for him to try out the new players, and Rohit and Kohli could play when the home season begins. I'm not saying it is a wrong approach, but it could have been one of the strategies in this series,” he said.

Kohli and Rohit were reportedly set to extend their break from cricket after the T20 World Cup, but as per reports, on Gambhir's insistence, the two cut short their break and arrived in Colombo for the ODI series.

The move only seemed logical from Gambhir's point of view, who wanted to get a better view of the possible line-up India could have for the Champions Trophy next year given that the team will only play one other series in the format, in February 2025, against England at home.

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