Indian spinner Axar Patel believes the presence of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will help newly appointed ODI captain Shubman Gill develop as a leader, speaking at a joint press interaction with Australian opener Travis Head in Perth on Friday ahead of Sunday’s first ODI.Gill has taken over the ODI captaincy from Rohit Sharma, who led India to the Champions Trophy title in March. Neither Rohit nor Kohli have played for India since that tournament.
“For Gill, it’s perfect, Rohit Bhai and Virat Bhai are there, and along with that, they have been captains, so they can give their input also, so it is very good growth of Gill’s captaincy,” said Axar. “What has been good about Gill’s captaincy thus far is that he has not been pressurised.”Despite their absence from competitive cricket, Axar confirmed both Rohit and Kohli appear ready for action after training at Bangalore’s Centre of Excellence.“Like Travis said, they both are world class players. We can see after the first match. They are professionals, so they know what to do. They have been practising in Bangalore’s Centre of Excellence, so I think they are ready to go. They are looking very good both in nets and fitness wise,” Axar stated.The Indian team’s experience in Australian conditions has shifted their focus from pitch concerns to strategic planning.“I feel that since 2015, there have been a lot of changes. When we used to come, the talk was about pitches, conditions, bounce and we used to play less as well. We started playing regularly after the 2015 World Cup, and, the series started getting longer, and after that the batters started doing well,” Axar explained.“When we come now it doesn’t feel like Australian conditions and we have to be more ready. We are now thinking about where we can make runs, so we talk about strategy and timing, we are not talking about the pitch, we are talking about how we can strategise,” he added.Axar, who has been selected ahead of Ravindra Jadeja for this series, expressed confidence in his abilities.“I am very confident about this series. In the Asia Cup, I did well both with bat and ball. After a long time, I would be playing in Australia. I am ready for the challenge,” he said.The team will begin their campaign with the first ODI on Sunday, with both Rohit and Kohli returning to international cricket after their Champions Trophy appearance in March.
