1st ODI: Gill says having Rohit and Kohli in team ‘makes life a lot more easier’

India’s ODI captain Shubman Gill shared his thoughts on playing alongside two legendary figures, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, as the stalwarts continue to dominate the 50-over format across domestic and international stages.

The Men in Blue are set to face New Zealand in a three-match ODI series starting Sunday, with the first game scheduled to be played at the BCA Stadium (Kotambi) in Vadodara. The match will see Rohit and Kohli back in India colours, and Gill marking his return to captaincy in the format after being ruled out of India’s previous series against South Africa.

“Among the two players you have named, one is one of the greatest openers (Rohit) of all time in ODIs, and Virat bhai is one of the greatest ODI batsmen ever. So, definitely when you have these two people in your team, it makes your life a lot easier,” an elated Gill told the reporters at the pre-match press conference.

“And whenever you are in that kind of situation, if you are in a tough situation, they always have been in those kinds of situations and conditions many times in their life. So, you can always go to them and see what they are thinking or what they would do. And that piece of information is very valuable for any captain,” he added.

Rohit and Kohli recently played a couple of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches for their respective state teams, Mumbai and Delhi, and both notched centuries in winning causes. Moreover, Kohli’s century against Andhra Pradesh also made him the fastest player to reach 16,000 List A runs, and he is now just two centuries away from equalling the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 60 List A hundreds.

Speaking further about the dressing room environment with Kohli and Rohit’s presence, Gill said, “The team atmosphere is amazing. The players that you named have been in this atmosphere for decades, and they are the people who always try to push Indian cricket forward. Even in the last series, you saw how well they performed. So I think the atmosphere in the team is great right now.”

After concluding their first ODI in Vadodara, the two teams will fly off to Rajkot for the second game, to be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium. The series will conclude on January 18 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.