Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel has advised Shubman Gill not to burn his energies trying to manage senior pros Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the ODI series against Australia.“I don’t think that it will be a problem because of the kind of characters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are,” Patel said in an interview with PTI.
“You look at Virat — he became captain when MS Dhoni was still playing. He knows the role a senior plays in grooming a new captain.“Same thing happened when Rohit became captain. Yes, Virat was not his senior, but he was nevertheless a former skipper.“Obviously, they have gone through that phase and understand the decisions, which are always about the betterment of Indian cricket. Both of them come across as mature.“I don’t think Shubman needs to put his energies into managing those senior players.”Parthiv Patel also emphasized that Virat and Rohit could maintain their form despite fewer bilateral ODIs by participating in domestic tournaments like the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He highlighted the value of such competitions in keeping them match-ready.“Two years is a long time, especially when there aren’t too many ODI games. Earlier, when there used to be 20–25 games a year, you would get on a roll, and before you knew it, two years had passed. But it is a different challenge, and we are new to this kind of situation. The challenge is to keep themselves match-fit,” said Parthiv.
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He further added: “I would definitely feel they should play the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It’s not about setting an example like, ‘We have made Kohli and Rohit play the Hazare Trophy.’ That is not how I would like to think. Playing the Hazare Trophy will help their own game, and in turn, that will help the Indian cricket team.”
