Gill on leading Rohit, Kohli: ‘It’s an honour to captain legends I grew up idolising’

New India ODI captain Shubman Gill said it’s an “honour” to lead cricket greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, adding that he’ll seek their advice when needed. The upcoming Australia ODIs mark the veterans’ final international games on Australian soil.

Perth: New appointed ODI skipper Shubman Gill shared his thoughts on captaining the batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and admitted that he won’t shy away from taking any advice from the veterans if he is in a difficult situation.

Both Rohit and Kohli are set to play their final international matches on Australian soil over the next week as part of India’s squad for the three-match series in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney.

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After replacing Rohit as Test skipper following his retirement earlier this year, Gill also assumed the ODI captaincy from the 38-year-old ahead of the tour of Australia.

India are touring Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is. India’s white-ball tour of Australia, under the new captain Gill, starts with the ODI series opener on Sunday at Perth Stadium and is followed by matches at Adelaide Oval and Sydney Cricket Ground on October 23 and 25, respectively. Following the ODIs, India will face Australia in a five-match T20I series under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy, scheduled from October 29 to November 8.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday about leading the two former skippers Rohit and Virat , Gill said, “They are the kind of players, when I was a kid I used to idolise. The kind of game that they used to play, the kind of hunger that they had are something that inspired me. And it’s a big honour for me to be able to lead such legends of the game and learn from them.”

“Even in the series, there were so many instances where I would be able to learn from their experience. And whenever I think I would be in a bit of a difficult situation, I wouldn’t shy away from getting any suggestions or advice from them,” he added.

Asked about his learning from Rohit and Kohli while playing under their reins, Gill replied, ‘There are some things I observed as a player that I really liked when I was playing under them. How they converse and what kind of communication and messaging that they had with the players is something that helped me get the best out of myself when I was playing under them.

“And as a captain now, that’s the kind of captain that I would want to be. Where all my players feel very secure in the job that they have to do and the communication with what I want from them is very clear.

“I think they have served Indian cricket for 15-20 years. So, there are a lot of things that I learnt when I was playing under them. And the skill set and the experience that they bring, the team that they play in, the experience that they bring, it is very difficult to replicate that.

“Their success all over the world, they have played and they have been successful, they have made runs, won series, won trophies. So, their experience will be very helpful for us.”

Rohit and Kohli had announced their T20I retirements after the T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados last year. With their wealth of experience and match-winning pedigree, Rohit and Kohli are expected to play pivotal roles in shaping India’s ODI fortunes Down Under.

After this series, India won’t return to Australia for one-day internationals before the 2027 World Cup, meaning the three matches are set to be the last time Kohli and Rohit will be in action down under.