Gambhir will survive BGT debacle; Kohli, Rohit to feature in CT, England Tests: sources
After India’s 1-3 loss against Australia in the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy series, many questions were raised about the senior players, mainly Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, following a series of poor performances. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and his support staff’s role has also come under scrutiny.
However, as things stand, all three are expected to remain in their positions, with BCCI sources telling IANS that both Rohit and Kohli will remain in contention for the Champions Trophy and the five-match Test series against England in June.
Rohit and Kohli have been pivotal to India’s top-order for the past decade, playing key roles in the country’s second T20 World Cup win in June. However, both have struggled in recent months. According to IANS sources, a review of the recent performances will take place soon, but the BCCI does not blame head coach Gautam Gambhir for the team’s defeat.
“There will be a review meeting but no firing. You can’t sack a coach for the batters’ poor performance in one series. Gautam Gambhir will remain the coach, and Virat and Rohit will feature in the England series. The focus is on the Champions Trophy,” BCCI sources told IANS on Tuesday.
Kohli started the series strong with a century in the opening Test in Perth, but his form dipped dramatically, leaving him with just 190 runs in the series. He was dismissed eight times while chasing balls outside off-stump. Rohit, who missed the Perth Test due to the birth of his second child, managed only 31 runs in three Tests before opting to rest for the fifth match in Sydney.
Following the Sydney Test, Gambhir was questioned about Virat and Rohit’s future in the team after the BGT series, but he remained confident the duo still had the “hunger and passion” to represent India. “I can’t talk about the future of any player. It is up to them as well. But yes, what I can say is that they still have hunger and passion, they are tough people. Hopefully, they can continue to take Indian cricket forward. But ultimately, as we all know, whatever they plan, it will be in the best interest of Indian cricket,” said Gambhir.
Since Gambhir’s appointment as head coach across all formats, India has dominated the shortest format of the game but has struggled in Test cricket. After a 2-0 home series win against Bangladesh, it seemed India had almost sealed a spot in their third consecutive World Test Championship final. However, a humiliating 0-3 loss to New Zealand marked the country’s first home series defeat in 12 years, and India was eliminated from WTC contention following the BGT loss.
India will host England for a white-ball series—five T20Is and three ODIs—starting towards the end of January before heading to Dubai for the Champions Trophy. Their next Test series will be a five-match series in England in June.
