Axar Patel says Rohit and Kohli’s presence will boost Shubman Gill’s ODI captaincy as India prepares to face Australia in the 2025 series.

Axar Patel, a left-arm spinner, stated on Friday that the presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian ODI team can only help new skipper Shubman Gill become a better leader.

Axar stated that Rohit and Kohli, who haven’t played for India since the Champions Trophy in March, appear as sharp as ever during India’s second training session before the first ODI on Sunday.

Gill is now the ODI captain, even though Rohit led India to the Champions Trophy title.

Axar stated in a joint interview with Australian opener Travis Head, “For Gill, it’s perfect. Rohit Bhai and Virat Bhai are there, and they have been captains, so they can give their input too. This is a very good growth of Gill’s captaincy.”

“Gill has been a good captain so far because he hasn’t felt any pressure.” Axar noted that Rohit and Kohli are still looking sharp, even if they haven’t played competitive cricket in a while.

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“Travis said both of them are world-class players.” We can tell how they’re playing after the first game. They know what to do because they are specialists. I suppose they’re ready to go because they’ve been practicing at Bangalore’s Center of Excellence. The bowling all-rounder, who first came to Australia as an India player ten years ago, remarked, “They look great in both nets and fitness.”

We don’t speak about how pitches bounce anymore; we talk about strategy.

Most of the Indian players, including Axar, have played a lot of cricket in Australia, which makes them feel at ease.

Axar remarked that the players in the dressing room are more focused on plotting how to beat the other team than on how bouncy the tracks are, as they know how to deal with them.

“I think a lot has changed since 2015, when he first came to Australia. We used to speak about pitches, conditions, and bounce when we came, and we played less.

“We started playing regularly after the 2015 World Cup, and the series started to get longer. After that, the batters started to do well,” he remarked.

“It doesn’t seem like Australia when we arrive today, so we need to be more prepared. “We’re not talking about the pitch; we’re talking about how we can strategize,” Axar said. “We’re thinking about where we can make runs.”

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Axar has a lot to live up to throughout the series because he was chosen over Ravindra Jadeja.

“I have a lot of faith in this series. I played well with both bat and ball in the Asia Cup. It would be a long time since I played in Australia (the 2022 T20 World Cup). He added, “I’m ready for the challenge.”