'He is U-turn man,': Ex-IND star calls Gautam Gambhir HYPOCRITE After his Comments on Kohli & Rohit

The newly appointed head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Gautam Gambhir, voiced hope in the abilities of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to keep playing for the team till the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 at a recent news conference before India visits Sri Lanka. Emphasising the need for dedication and perseverance, Gambhir underlined the possibility for ongoing success with the dynamic pair guiding the Indian cricket team, as they have been taking care of the sport in India for the past decade.

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K Srikkanth on Gautam Gambhir’s statement on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma 

Given his age and degree of fitness, former Indian cricket player K Srikkanth thinks Rohit Sharma will find it rather difficult to take part in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa. Having almost missed it in the 2023 edition, the Indian skipper still needs to clinch the coveted 50-over ICC trophy.

Rohit Sharma spoke at a recent Dallas event about his plans to keep playing for India for a little more before thinking about retiring. He retired from T20Is following the 2024 T20 World Cup, but he hasn't ruled out taking part in the 2027 ODI World Cup to maybe add a last glory to his career.

Gautam Gambhir, India's head coach, said in his first news conference support for the potential of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli staying active till the 2027 ODI World Cup. With Gambhir's contract as head coach till the end of 2027, these three might try to land India's first ODI championship since 2011.

Srikkanth, however, attacked Gambhir, calling him a hypocrite and contending that it is improbable for Rohit Sharma to be playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup. Speaking on his Youtube channel, K Srikkanth said: 

“Gautam Gambhir is most hip-hopper. He is a real U-turn man. Before the T20 World Cup 2024, he was saying if Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma do not perform, they will not sit in my team. Then he took a U-turn now, saying there is no player like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. After becoming head coach, he said that both have a lot of cricket left and hopefully they will fit for the 2027 World Cup,”

"He is a good player, but his age is 37 presently, and the next ODI World Cup is three more years ahead. He will be 40 years old then. I mean, unless you are a super-fit person like MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar, you can’t play World Cup at 40s. Yeah, Virat Kohli could play in the 2027 World Cup, in my opinion, for sure. But for Rohit, Mr. Gambhir, you went overboard; he will faint in South Africa," 

Presently, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are integral elements of the strategies for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy. They have been selected to be part of the ODI team for the forthcoming series against Sri Lanka.