Team India bowling coach Morne Morkel has described the team as ‘fortunate’ to benefit from the experience of renowned cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of the home ODI series against West Indies.
The first ODI of the three-match series is scheduled for Sunday, marking the return of both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to India’s ODI squad.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Morkel emphasised the value of senior players like Kohli and Sharma in providing guidance and sharing game knowledge to assist captain Shubman Gill and his teammates. He said, “It’s always great to have that experience back in the team, to guide Shubman as well. I must say Shubman has done an exceptional job so far leading the team. But I’m always a big believer in senior players and how they shape the team. I think different players in the team will feel more comfortable speaking to a certain senior individual and we’re quite fortunate that we’ve got a lot of experience in that. So, if Virat or Rohit are leading the conversation, there’s a lot of game time and a lot of experience in those conversations that can only be great for the team. We are quite fortunate that we’ve got that experience with the senior players.”
Rohit Sharma is India’s third-highest run-scorer in ODIs, having scored 11,895 runs in 288 matches and 280 innings, averaging 48.95, including 34 centuries and 62 fifties. Virat Kohli has amassed 14,941 runs in 314 ODIs and 302 innings at an average of 58.59, with 54 centuries and 79 fifties, establishing himself as one of the finest ever ODI batsmen.
India will aim to recover from their 1-2 series defeat against England in July by securing a convincing victory over West Indies in this upcoming ODI series.
The India ODI squad for the series includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Naman Dhir.