Once SA ODIs are over, decision will be taken on how to give Rohit-Kohli game time: Gill
Sydney (PTI): Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will need a lot of game time going forward now that they play only one format but a decision on how the two white ball legends will stay in rhythm will be decided once the South Africa ODI series is over, skipper Shubman Gill said on Saturday.
Kohli and Rohit finished the ODI series on a high with unbeaten 74 and 121 respectively in the team's emphatic nine-wicket victory in dead rubber against Australia.
Asked if he has had a discussion with the duo regarding the gap of a month between now and the next series against South Africa and another seven weeks before New Zealand come calling, Gill replied in negative.
"We haven't talked about it yet. But I think once South Africa (ODI) series is over (on December 6), there will be a gap in international cricket before the New Zealand ODI series (January 11, 2026). So I think then we will see how to keep the players in touch. Then I think a decision will be taken," Gill said at the post-match press conference.
However with only six more ODI games (three vs SA and three vs NZ) left for the season, game time is an issue.
The next international assignment for Rohit and Kohli is SA one dayers on November 30, December 3 and 6 followed by 50-vers games against New Zealand starting January 11.
However from December 24, the Vijay Hazare Trophy (National One Dayers) will start and both are expected to play a few games for their respective teams.
"They have been winning games for the past 15 years"
For the young skipper, seeing 38-year-old Rohit and 36-year-old Kohli finish off a clinical chase was a treat for the eyes.
"They've been doing this for the past 15 years. To be able to watch them play like this and get the team through unbeaten is really a treat to watch," Gill said, reiterating that "as a player, there were no doubts" about the two modern day greats being able to perform.
"As a captain, when you sit outside and watch the match, it feels really good that the two senior most players of the team are playing, and they're getting the team through."
Just hearing the duo middle the ball is an experience for a young man, who has grown up watching the duo.
"I think, like I said, it's a treat to watch both of them, especially when they're batting like that, and seeing the ball fly off their bats, and just hearing the sound that comes off their bat is something, you know, that tells you how good a nick that they're both in."
Gill also spoke about how they executed what is always discussed at team meetings -- if someone is set, he should finish the game.
"Watching them from outside and taking the team through is something that we often talk about in team meetings. They are walking the talk, so it's a great bonus for us."
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
