Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are quality and world-class players: Gautam Gambhir

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has heaped praise on the Indian veteran batting duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after India sealed the 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa at home.

Speaking at the post-match press conference after the series win, Gambhir asserted that the talismanic batters are quality and world-class players in the 50-over format, hoping that they can continue doing the same in the future. 

“They (Ro-Ko) are quality players. They are world-class players in the format. Their experience is important in the dressing room. They are quality players in the format. They are doing what they do. They have been doing it for a long time. Hopefully, they can continue doing the same, which is always going to be important come the white ball format and the 50-over format,” Gautam Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.

While Kohli was adjudged the player of the series for two centuries and an unbeaten half-century, the series also saw centuries from No.4 batter Ruturaj Gaikwad in Raipur ODI and opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal in the series-decider in Visakhapatnam.

“Someone like Rutu, who’s batted out of possession, but he’s a quality player, we all know. But we wanted to give him an opportunity in this series, because the kind of form he was in with India ‘A’. And he actually grabbed that opportunity with both hands, getting a 100 in the second game when we were under pressure. We were 40 for 2, then getting that kind of 100 was proper quality.”

“And Yashasvi as well, we’ve seen how much quality he has, especially what he does in Test cricket. And obviously, it’s just the start of his career, especially in white ball cricket. Hopefully, he has a massive future ahead, and so does Rutu,” Gambhir concluded.

The action now shifts to the five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting on Tuesday, December 9.

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