ODI World Cup 2023: Gautam Gambhir warns Rohit Sharma, cites Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid’s captaincy

ODI World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma-led Team India lifted the Asia Cup on Sunday in a one-sided match against Sri Lanka. Mohammed Siraj bowled a magnificent spell of 6/21 to stun the Sri Lankan batting order and finally young Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill played a small innings to bring the Asia Cup home. This is a major boost for Team India ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023, but former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has a warning for skipper Rohit Sharma.

Gautam Gambhir cited the examples of former skippers Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and said questions will be raised if Rohit Sharma fails to deliver with the best 15-18 players in the Indian team. He stressed that this team has the ability to make the World Cup final.

“There was never a doubt about Rohit the captain. He won 5 IPL titles. Many didn't even win once. But his real test will come in the next 15 days. You have your best 15-18 players in the dressing room now. If they cannot deliver there will be question marks. After every World Cup, if the captain is unable to deliver then questions will be raised. Virat Kohli faced it. Rahul Dravid faced it in 2007. If India fails to deliver in 2023, then questions will be raised on Rohit's captaincy. But this team has the ability to make the World Cup final,” NDTV quoted him saying on Star Sports.

Many positives for Asia Cup

After winning the continent, winning the world is the next task for the Indian cricket team. Asia Cup 2023 came with many positives for Team India as with saw the strength of India's top batting order in a match against Pakistan. The comeback of KL Rahul with that epic century is another great news for Indian fans. In the middle order, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya showed resilience and the ability to take innings to big scores.

Spin bowling led by Kuldeep Yadav and pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah has been marvelous. India also learned some crucial lessons in the series, especially against Sri Lanka's fierce spin attack and Bangladesh's swing.