Gambhir wants Rohit and Kohli to be available for most games, aim for 2027 ODI World Cup
Mumbai, Jul 22: India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday said he expects senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to be available for most of the ODIs and Tests after retiring from T20 Internationals, expressing hope that they would "keep their fitness" to be in the reckoning for the 2027 50-over World Cup.
Both Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from the T20I format after India's World Cup win earlier this month and were expected to miss the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
However, they both were named in India's squad for next month's three ODIs in the island nation keeping in mind the Champions Trophy, which is slated for the first quarter of the next year.
Speaking to the media for the first time after being named India's head coach, Gambhir highlighted the importance of workload management for ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah but expected the regular presence of Rohit and Kohli going forward.
"I've said it before that workload management for someone like Jasprit Bumrah is important. For a batter, if they can play consistently, if they're in good form, might as well just play all the games," he said.
"With Rohit and Virat are not playing T20 cricket, we only have two formats to look after. I'm sure they're going to be available for most of the games," he added.
But for Bumrah, Gambhir said the "one rare kind of a bowler" deserves to be handled with more care due to injury concerns that are a regular nuisance for fast bowlers..
"It's our responsibility to try and have him fresh for most of the important games (and) that's why workload management, not only for Jasprit Bumrah, but for most of the fast bowlers becomes very, very important," he said.
Gambhir also said he expects Rohit and Kohli to focus on their fitness keeping in my mind the 2027 ODI World Cup, slated to be held in South Africa.
"They have shown what they can deliver on the big day...in the T20 World Cup, in the 50-overs World Cup as well," he said.
"One thing I can be very clear of is that both of those guys have a lot of cricket left in them. More importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia coming up they will be motivated.
"Because then, hopefully, if they can keep their fitness to make 2027 World Cup as well but this is a very personal decision. I can't say how much cricket is left in them," Gambhir said.
Different teams for different formats? May be
Gambhir did not rule out having three different teams for respective formats but said it is imperative for the Indian team to show consistency, even though the T20I side is in transition following the retirements of Rohit, Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
"See, eventually going forward, these things happen. For example, Virat and Rohit and Ravindra are not there in T20Is. But (I) can't say right now that there are going to be three different teams," he said.
"I think T20I (team) will obviously go through a transition with three seriously good players, world-class players, retiring from the format.
"But yes, in 50-overs and Test cricket, the more consistent we can be, the better it is going to be. The more players in both the formats, it is always better for any team," he said.
Will keep things simple
Gambhir said he would try to ensure a happy dressing room as international cricket can produce situations of pressure and insecurity.
"My experience or my learning has been very simple. In a sport, it's all about winning, so I don't deviate from something like that," he said while talking about the lessons he learnt as mentors of IPL teams Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders.
"...we try and play hard and more importantly, we try and come back in a winning dressing room.. A happy dressing room is a winning dressing room. I think I don't like complicating things and that's the kind of profession I'm in," he asserted.
"Sometimes, international cricket can be tough and it can be insecure as well because only 15 can play. But it's the job of the support staff to try and keep them in a happy state and that is going to be one thing which we definitely will be working for," he added.
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SC refuses plea against Andhra Pradesh govt panel reviewing SIT report on Tirumala laddu row
New Delhi (PTI): In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to restrain a one-member committee appointed by the Andhra Pradesh government from reviewing an independent Special Investigation Team's (SIT) report on the Tirumala laddu controversy.
The top court, on October 4, 2024, had set up the five-member independent SIT to probe the allegations of animal fat used in preparing Tirupati laddus to "assuage the feelings of crores of people", while making clear that the court cannot be used as a "political battleground".
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi was told by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy that the state government's decision to appoint the one-member committee amounts to setting up a parallel inquiry that would affect the SIT's probe. The plea also assailed statements made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the row.
Rejecting the submissions, the CJI noted that the SIT probe is already over and the matter is sub-judice as two chargesheets, including a supplementary one, have been submitted in the court.
"Such an administrative enquiry cannot be called as overlapping with the criminal proceedings which led to the chargesheet and the supplementary chargesheet," the CJI said.
"There is no conflict of interest/overlapping, and the scope of the investigation/enquiry, having been well demarcated, shows that apprehension of the petitioner does not have a solid foundation. Let both processes continue strictly in accordance with the law," the court said.
Swamy argued that the state government's move undermines the authority of the SIT, constituted earlier by the Supreme Court itself to probe irregularities surrounding the laddus distributed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the SIT has completed its investigation and filed its final report.
He underlined that according to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) manual, if administrative lapses not connected to a criminal matter are found during a probe, then those have to be intimated to the state government, and as the SIT has found certain administrative lapses, the Andhra Pradesh government's panel is looking into those.
The panel replaced the state government's SIT, constituted on September 26, 2024, following the politically-sensitive row over the alleged use of animal fat in the laddus.
The controversy erupted after Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus during the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led regime in the southern state.
The YSR Congress Party has accused Naidu of levelling "heinous allegations" against it for political gains, while the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the state has circulated a laboratory report to back its claim.
A batch of pleas, including those seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged use of animal fat in making the laddus, was then filed in the apex court.
