Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday said veteran Indian batter Virat Kohli and Test captain Rohit Sharma should be a part of the Indian team till they are performing, adding that he will have no role in deciding whether the two senior players are picked for the five-match Test series against England in June.
While speaking the ABP News' 'India At 2047' Summit, Gambhir said, ""First things first, a coach's job isn't selecting the team. It is the job of selectors to select. The coach only selects the 11 who will play a match. Neither those who coached before me were selectors nor am I a selector,"
When further asked about the form of Kohli and Sharma, who have had a poor run in Test cricket since the home series against New Zealand in October last year, the coach said, "Till the time they (Rohit and Kohli) are performing, they should be a part of the team. When you start and when you end, is your individual decision."
"No coach, no selector, no BCCI can tell you when you should call it quits. If you perform, then why 40, you can jolly well play till 45, who's stopping you?" he added.
India will tour England for five Tests starting June 20.
Further, he said that the two players' selection in the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, will depend on their performance.
Both the batters had a tough time on the tour to Australia from November-January. However, the two had a good run in India's victorious Champions Trophy Campaign earlier this year.
"And what should I say about their performance? The world saw how they performed in CT."
Gambhir also rubbished the concept of planned farewells and insisted that no cricketer puts them on their bucket list.
"No sportsman plays cricket thinking about a grand farewell. Rather than farewell, we should try and remember how and in which situations they have won matches for the country," he said.
"Whether he gets farewell or not isn't important. If he has made contribution for the country, that itself is a big enough farewell. Is there any bigger trophy than love from countrymen? Farewells don't matter to cricketers."
While speaking the ABP News' 'India At 2047' Summit, Gambhir said, ""First things first, a coach's job isn't selecting the team. It is the job of selectors to select. The coach only selects the 11 who will play a match. Neither those who coached before me were selectors nor am I a selector,"
When further asked about the form of Kohli and Sharma, who have had a poor run in Test cricket since the home series against New Zealand in October last year, the coach said, "Till the time they (Rohit and Kohli) are performing, they should be a part of the team. When you start and when you end, is your individual decision."
"No coach, no selector, no BCCI can tell you when you should call it quits. If you perform, then why 40, you can jolly well play till 45, who's stopping you?" he added.
India will tour England for five Tests starting June 20.
Further, he said that the two players' selection in the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, will depend on their performance.
Both the batters had a tough time on the tour to Australia from November-January. However, the two had a good run in India's victorious Champions Trophy Campaign earlier this year.
"And what should I say about their performance? The world saw how they performed in CT."
Gambhir also rubbished the concept of planned farewells and insisted that no cricketer puts them on their bucket list.
"No sportsman plays cricket thinking about a grand farewell. Rather than farewell, we should try and remember how and in which situations they have won matches for the country," he said.
"Whether he gets farewell or not isn't important. If he has made contribution for the country, that itself is a big enough farewell. Is there any bigger trophy than love from countrymen? Farewells don't matter to cricketers."
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