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Former India cricketer Ashish Nehra was critical of Gautam Gambhir’s strategy in the Sri Lanka ODI series, where India now faces a must-win scenario.
Typically, the strategy for a bilateral series involves starting with a consistent playing XI to gain an early lead before experimenting with bench strength. However, when a team finds itself trailing after the initial matches and faces a must-win scenario, the approach might shift. The Indian team will confront this very challenge on Tuesday as they prepare for the final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo. After the home team secured a tie in the first match and a 32-run victory in the second, India now faces a critical must-win situation.
India retained the same playing XI for the second game, leaving out players like Rishabh Pant, Khaleel Ahmed, Riyan Parag, and Harshit Rana. If included in the lineup for the third match, Harshit and Riyan would be making their ODI debuts. Meanwhile, Pant is still waiting for his first ODI appearance since December 2022, and Khaleel has not featured in the format since 2019.
After the second ODI on Sunday, former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra was asked by Sony Sports if he expected new head coach Gautam Gambhir to make any changes to the playing XI. While he avoided specifics, Nehra suggested that Gambhir might have misjudged his strategy by including experienced players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the series. Nehra believed the focus should have been on giving opportunities to newer players. He argued that Sharma and Kohli were not essential for the series and could have extended their break, returning at the beginning of the home season in September.
“The next series India play is 2-3 months later, a rare thing for us. So for players like Rohit and Kohli…I feel there was a better chance of giving opportunities to other players during this series. I know Gambhir is a new coach, and he wants to spend some time with the experienced players, but it isn’t like he doesn’t know the two of them. He is not a foreign coach who wants to get his equation right with Kohli and Rohit. So it was a good opportunity for him to try out the new players, and Rohit and Kohli could play when the home season begins. I’m not saying it is a wrong approach, but it could have been one of the strategies in this series,” he said.
It was Gambhir’s call to include Kohli Rohit
Kohli and Rohit were initially expected to extend their cricket break following the T20 World Cup. However, on Gautam Gambhir’s request, they shortened their break and joined the ODI series in Colombo.
This decision made sense from Gambhir’s perspective, as he aimed to assess India’s potential lineup for the Champions Trophy next year. With only one more ODI series scheduled before the tournament—against England at home in February 2025—Gambhir saw this series as a crucial opportunity to evaluate his options.
