India tour of Australia: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were named in India's 15-man squad for the three-match series, starting October 19. Shubman Gill replaced Rohit as the new captain of the one-day international side.
00:00Ajit, you have included Rohit and Virat in the ODI squad, Jadeja is not there.
00:07So how do you see their future in the context of the 2027 World Cup and has Rohit been communicated,
00:14if you are comfortable telling us?
00:16Rohit has been communicated?
00:18Yeah, he has, firstly.
00:22I mean, that's the format they are at the moment playing.
00:28We've picked them as far as the 2027 World Cup is concerned.
00:31I don't think we need to talk about it today.
00:34Obviously with the captaincy change, that's generally the thought.
00:38With regards to Jadeja, I mean, look at the moment to take two left-arm spinners to Australia
00:43was not possible.
00:44He's clearly in the scheme of things with how good he is, but there will be some competition
00:49for places.
00:50It's not that he's, of course, he was there in the Champions Trophy squad because we took
00:54those extra spinners with the conditions there.
00:57At the moment, we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi and
01:02Kuldeep there as well.
01:03And I don't think we're going to need more than that in Australia's spin.
01:06But he's clearly in the scheme of things that do with how good he is, what he offers us
01:11as a batter and a bowler, but particularly in the field as well.
01:14So yeah, it's just three.
01:16It's a short series.
01:18You can't accommodate everyone.
01:19And unfortunately, at the moment, he's missing out.
01:22It's nothing more than that.
01:24Ajit Bhai, I mean, what was the idea, if you can elaborate more, what was the idea behind,
01:30is it going with the next cycle to have a new captain?
01:34And of course, Rohit and Virat will decide about the future, but what was the thought
01:38process overall to have a new captain going ahead?
01:40Yeah, I mean, a couple of things really, firstly, it's practically impossible to have three
01:48different captains for three formats, you know, just in terms of planning.
01:53Obviously, at some stage, you've got to start looking at where the next World Cup is.
01:58It's also a format which is played the least now.
02:01So you don't get that many games to actually give the next guy or if there is going to be
02:06another guy, that much time to prepare himself or plan.
02:11And what, we're two years away still, that might look like a long time, but we don't
02:16quite know how many one-day games we might play.
02:18Closer to the World Cup, we might end up playing a little bit more than what we have.
02:22But the last one-day game we played was, what, 8th or 9th March in Champions Trophy.
02:28And the next one we play is in October 19th.
02:31So it is a bit of a challenge with one-day cricket at the moment.
02:34Of course, the focus has been on T20 World Cup, but slowly, but surely we'll start planning
02:40for that World Cup to come.
02:42So that's the plan.
02:44It gives the next guy enough time to plan with whatever games that we have coming.
02:51And it is very difficult to have three different captains for three formats.
02:55In terms of not just selectors, but more importantly, even for the coach, to plan with three different
03:01people is never easy.
03:04Did the selectors communicate their plan to Rohit Sharma as far as the captaincy is concerned?
03:09And if you can share, how did he take it?
03:13I mean, that's a conversation between me and Rohit, really, or us and Rohit.
03:17But like I said to him that, of course, it's been communicated.
03:22Shubman is having such short turnarounds between tournaments and between series and he's also
03:29been playing.
03:30He'll also be the captain for the South Africa tests and he'll play in one day or so.
03:34Any risks or any fears of a burnout considering he's such a key performer?
03:39Yeah.
03:40Hopefully not.
03:41I mean, he's still quite young.
03:43Look, I mean, we saw what he did in England under immense pressure, so there were really
03:50positive signs there.
03:52I mean, you've seen his record in one day cricket as a batter.
03:57We hope there's no burnout.
03:59It is true there's a lot of cricket coming thick and fast over the next few months in particular.
04:04I mean, him particularly, but the team management as well, we'll try and manage it as best as
04:09we can.
04:10But you also want to, like I said, give the guy enough time to try and prepare going into
04:16that next World Cup, which is, you know, what, 24 months away, but may not be that many
04:22games.
04:23So we want to give him the best possible chance.
04:25Yeah, Ajit, Abhishek and Telekom have been outstanding in the last six months in the T20
04:32format of the game.
04:33Can you figure anywhere in ODI or you simply just cannot accommodate them because you have
04:38too much talent in Monty for the Monty team?
04:40Sorry, Abhishek and Telekom.
04:42Yeah, I mean, you're right, at the moment, Rohit and Gil are likely to open.
04:49There's Yashishwi Jaiswal, you know, people tend to forget how good he is as well.
04:55And Telekom's very close.
04:56Again, we've taken a 15-man squad.
04:57It's three-match series.
04:59You know, you don't…
05:01It's not like a test series where you can carry a few extra which you might need.
05:04You may not end up needing more than those.
05:06And you're not going to make too many changes in three games that you play.
05:09It's a short series.
05:10We've got a few more one days coming after that.
05:12We'll see how we can try and rotate players.
05:15But they're both excellent players and putting up their case.
05:19At this point, there's no real place here.
05:22Ajit, just to clarify, there were some reports that this would be the last ODI series for
05:27Rohit Virat.
05:28Anything discussed on those lines?
05:29And just to understand the fitness protocols in place, we didn't see Virat, you know,
05:34during the course of the COA test, etc.
05:37So, is it just tougher to sort of evaluating the two of them now that they play only one
05:41format?
05:42Not as far as I know.
05:45I think they've both done their whatever the fitness tests or the fitness norms that
05:50have been suggested.
05:51Again, I mean, I wish Adrian was here or somebody from the team was there.
05:54As far as I know or the selectors know, they've gone through the required norms that have been
06:00put in place.
06:01So, I haven't heard anything other than that.
06:04And generally, before selection, we give names out to the COE, who tells us about the fitness
06:10status of all the players and everyone's been declared, who's been picked, has been declared
06:14fit and available.
06:15Hi Ajit, with a lot of cricket coming up, how do you plan to rest and plan about Bumrah?
06:23Because obviously, in England, he played just three things, I mean, three tests and now
06:28going forward across formats.
06:29What's the guideline for him?
06:30Go ahead.
06:31Yeah, we've already rested him for the one-day games.
06:34I mean, when we can manage his workload, we will do that.
06:40Like I said in the previous press conference, I mean, there was, what, a month and a half
06:44or close to that five weeks or something since that Manchester test that he played.
06:48So there's, okay, there is always a plan, wherever you can give him a break, you will, because
06:53we all know how important he is.
06:55But we've also got to see what's in the interest of the team.
06:59And when we need him to play, he's always available, so, but we will look after, not
07:03just him, I mean, you know, Siraj bowls a lot of overs as well.
07:06There are other guys who, you know, who do play test cricket who will end up having a lot
07:11of bowling to do.
07:12So you try and manage all the seamers so that you minimize the risk of injuries.
07:18Achut, can you just give us a fitness update on Hardik Pandya and also how important that
07:32this series will be for Nitish, who's come on behalf of Hardik.
07:35Hardik Pandya's fitness, yeah, at the moment he's not going to be fit for Australia.
07:41I think the injury that he picked up just before the finals in Asia Cup, we'll know
07:48in due course how long it's going to be at this point.
07:51In a week's time he's supposed to be there at the COE.
07:54And once he starts his rehab, we'll probably get better timelines.
07:58But for Australia he's definitely not available.
08:00Ajit, was starting with a new captain for this cycle was always the part of the plan or how
08:07much did the sort of tour that Shriban Gill had in England helped you to make this choice?
08:13And also with regards to Kohli and Rohit, you mentioned about how ODAs are like, not much
08:20ODAs happen.
08:21So are they expected to play in the domestic ODA VJ Hazari as well for selection going forward?
08:26Yeah, I mean I think that we've made it clear a year or a couple of years back now that
08:31whenever the guys are available, they should be playing domestic cricket.
08:35Particularly the guys.
08:36I mean that's the only way you'll keep yourself sharp and playing cricket.
08:39If you've got a long enough break.
08:41Whether that's possible with the international cricket, you're playing or not, that only time
08:45will tell.
08:46But if guys are free, I mean they should be playing domestic cricket.
08:51Sorry, and what was the other question?
08:52It was a long one.
08:53I forgot the first part of it.
08:55I mean he's been vice-captain in one day cricket for a while now.
09:04It's not just the England series.
09:05I mean that's always the plan.
09:08Whenever the next guy takes over, it ideally should be the vice-captain.
09:12Doesn't always work out that way.
09:14But obviously what he's shown in England were really good positive signs and we are very hopeful.
09:23Ajit, how difficult the decision was to remove someone from captaincy who in his last assignment
09:33won India the Champions Trophy?
09:35Yeah, I mean even if he had not won the Champions Trophy it would have been a difficult decision because of how good he's been for India.
09:42But you've got to sometimes look at what's coming forward, where you stand as a team and eventually look at what's in the best interest of the team.
09:49Whether it's now or maybe six months later, those are the calls that I suppose we are put in place to make.
09:56And like I said, it's tough with one day cricket at this point because if you're going to make that call, you want to try and make it reasonably early and give the other guy enough chance to try and get that confidence of leading another format.
10:12So that was the idea but it's always tough and someone who's been very successful, you have to make that decision.
10:19Ajit, a word on two new guys, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel.
10:29With regards to Jurel, was Sanju Sampson also in the conversation because I think his last ODI, he scored 100 in South Africa where the World Cup is also going to happen.
10:40So what was the thought process behind Jurel's selection?
10:44It's more position.
10:45I mean, Sanju Sampson bats at the top of the order.
10:47I think when he got 100, I think he batted number 3 if I'm not wrong.
10:50Jurel usually bats lower down the order.
10:53KL bats there as well.
10:56I mean, you've seen how good a player Dhruv is.
11:00So again, you're looking at spots.
11:02I don't think there's room at the top again.
11:05So we're looking at guys who can fit in those spots here and obviously Sanju at the moment in T20 cricket is batting there and we're trying him there.
11:15But in one day cricket, it's a little bit different.
11:17So that's basically the thought.
11:19It's more the position than anything else.
11:21I mean, Hardik's missing out through injury.
11:26Again, shown a lot of promise.
11:28We've seen more in test cricket so far.
11:31It gives us an opportunity to see what he can do in white ball cricket.
11:34We don't have a whole lot of guys who can bat and bowl both because it's a difficult job to do both.
11:42And he's certainly showing promise and we'll probably see a bit more of him when he does bowl in white ball cricket and bat.
11:49Ajit.
11:50Just in terms of Rohit and Virat, obviously short-term planning, long-term planning.
11:56What exactly are you looking for from these two?
11:58I mean, it's not like they have anything to prove.
12:00So what are you looking at?
12:01Are you looking at fitness?
12:02Are you looking at form?
12:03What is it?
12:04I mean, what they've been doing for years here, try and score runs.
12:08I don't think that changes.
12:11You're still playing for your country.
12:13Whether you are in a…
12:14I mean, they're still leaders in that dressing room and you hope they are.
12:17But eventually it's the runs and they've scored tons of it, both of them.
12:21And been extremely successful in this format.
12:23So we hope they keep doing it.
12:26And you know, you don't have to think too far at this point.
12:29The team is picked for Australia and, you know, that's…
12:34Need them to score runs like they have been through their career.
12:39Ajit, you know, you spoke about fewer one-day internationals.
12:42And especially for people who play only that format,
12:45how much harder is it for selectors to also look at, you know,
12:49not just fitness but form and other things, you know, going forward?
12:54I don't think it's happened too many times.
12:57This is one of the few times that it's happened.
12:59I'm trying to think if it's happened since I've been selected.
13:02So we'll find out.
13:03I mean, it's…
13:04Look, those are two really experienced guys who've been around for a long time.
13:07So they would…
13:08They would perhaps find it a little bit alien just to play one format,
13:11which is played the least.
13:13But they're probably the guys to answer that.
13:15And we'll find out a bit more when we see them in Australia playing.
13:19There's no doubt about their quality as players.
13:23Whether not playing a lot of cricket makes a difference.
13:26One you should ask them and we'll find out when they play.
13:29But it doesn't happen too many times.
13:31And even if it happens,
13:33a lot of the guys these days end up playing either test cricket or T20,
13:36which obviously in terms of matches is a lot more than one-day cricket.
13:41So whether it's a challenge or not, we'll find out.
13:44And they probably will be better equipped to answer that.
13:51You know what?
13:52You can go ahead and take a look.
13:53And then the other part of the game is a знаемer.
13:54You're right.
13:55So they'll be different.
13:56The other part of the game is a great game.
13:57They're kind of like how long we can type in the game,
13:58as well as we're doing a game.
14:00You better know?
14:01You better know what I'm walking on.
14:02You better know.
14:03You better know what's going on.
14:04You better know.
14:05You better know, you better know what I'm doing.
Be the first to comment