Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir strongly believes that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have a massive role to play in the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 starting from February 19 (Wednesday). The eight-team tournament makes its comeback after eight years with Pakistan hosting the ninth edition along with the UAE.
Despite the veteran duo batters being in a poor run of form in recent games, the 43-year-old still hopes that the ‘Ro-Ko’ pair adds immense value to the Indian cricket team.
Ever since Suryakumar Yadav became Rohit Sharma’s successor as a 20-over format captain after the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, the team has been dominant in the shortest format of the game.
But, Rohit and Kohli, who retired from T20Is the last year, were part of the test squad that suffered a humiliating 3-0 series loss to New Zealand at home.
Moreover, a 3-1 debacle in the 5-match test series in Australia not only concluded India’s decade’s domination in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) but also faced elimination from the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final.
Following the back-to-back defeats, both experienced cricketers returned to domestic cricket to discover the lost form and confidence, but their struggling performance continued.
Gautam Gambhir’s Thoughts: Why Rohit and Kohli Can Play a Crucial Role in Champions Trophy 2025?
Even though Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are undergoing one of the rough patches in their career, Gautam Gambhir voiced his encouragement ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 citing the duo’s determination to accumulate more runs:
“Yeah! I believe Rohit and Kohli add huge depth to the dressing room. They contribute immense value to the Indian cricket team. I am sure they have got to play a massive role in the Champions Trophy 2025.
As I have mentioned before several times, these two batters are so hungry to score runs. They are determined to play for their nation and fulfill their duties for the country,” Gambhir shared his opinion during the BCCI annual awards in Mumbai on Saturday (January 31).
Champions Trophy Will Be A Tough Challenge Than ODI World Cup
Gambhir is aware that India cannot take a chance to relax even for a single moment, as there are just three matches in the Champions Trophy 2025. In contrast to the 50-over World Cup in 2023 which included nine matches for each team in league stages, the forthcoming ninth season of the Champions Trophy has just three matches in group stages.
As every match is an all-or-nothing moment for all teams, here is what the former Indian batter had to say about India’s preparation:
“Definitely! The Champions Trophy is quite a unique challenge when compared to the ODI World Cup. Every match is a make-or-break moment, so you cannot even take a chance to slow down in this tournament.
We hope that we are going to have a positive start to the contest. If you have to lift the trophy, all you need to do is win all five games in the competition,” Gambhir said.
India placed in Group A commences their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20 (Thursday), before competing against the defending champions Pakistan on February 23 (Sunday). The men-in-blue will conclude their group stages with their last clash against New Zealand on March 02 (Sunday).
As a result, winning all three matches paves the way for India to secure a spot in the first semi-final played in Dubai on March 04 (Tuesday).
Gambhir About IND vs PAK Hype in Champions Trophy 2025
Furthermore, Gambhir opened up about the expectations for the India vs Pakistan match on February 23:
“See! We play in the Champions Trophy not just because considering that the 23rd of February is the most important match for us. Rather, I feel that all the five games are crucial. The main aim of flying to Dubai is to win the Champions Trophy and not just win one game against Pakistan.
At the same time, if that one particular match is middle of winning the Champions Trophy, then we are certainly going to try to consider it as seriously as we can.
Most importantly, I believe that emotions will be at the greatest level when the two rival countries India and Pakistan play against each other. Ultimately, the contest goes on,” Gambhir added a few more facts.
Gautam Gambhir Heaps Praises on Suryakumar Yadav’s Captaincy
Gambhir lauded Suryakumar for injecting unique concepts into the T20I squad following Rohit and Virat’s retirement from the 20-over format after winning the T20 World Cup the previous year:
“Look! Considering the selflessness and fearlessness approach, me and SKY(Suryakumar Yadav) has been on the same side. We aim to move forward smarter, which is essential to develop the T20 squad. Hopefully, the same can be implemented in other formats as well.
But, I feel that these guys are extremely brilliant. They possess the required skills and temperament. Especially, what they have contributed in the last six months has been tremendous.
Once again I must mention that the starting point of this T20 team was based on two ideas — selflessness and fearlessness. This is something we want to develop in that dressing room and the youngsters are at their best level,” Gambhir expressed his joyful moment.
Conclusive Facts:
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as India’s top two batters will be back in the headlines when they face England in the 3-match ODI series, which is their last limited-overs assignment ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025.
Overall, Gambhir and several experts are confident that the senior right-handed duo batters’ poor form in the red-ball format wouldn’t be affected in white-ball cricket as they have performed well in the previous editions of the World Cups.