Former India cricket-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has stated that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will continue to struggle with their limited opportunities to play international cricket ahead of the second ODI between India and England.
He emphasized that two ODI series are separated by a significant amount of time, with each series typically consisting of just three games.
On Thursday, July 16, Cardiff will host the second ODI of India and England's three-match series. In the visitors' six-wicket victory in the series opener in Birmingham two days ago, Kohli scored five runs off six balls while Rohit made 11 from 21 balls.
According to Chopra, Rohit and Kohli will be concerned about their lack of playing time going into the second ODI against England.
"Rohit and Kohli, this will always be a problem for them because an ODI series is generally of three matches. There is a series, then there is nothing for two months, then there is a series, and then nothing for two months. Virat didn't play against Afghanistan either. Rohit still played there.
So, when will Virat's next ODI series come? I think September. So that is a huge gap, and it keeps coming repeatedly. So, you want to score runs. They generally don't fail in the same match. They did in the previous match, but despite that, they have excellent numbers against England. You would want both of them to score the runs because this could be their last England tour," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Rohit Sharma has been playing ODI cricket regularly since retiring from Tests and ODIs, while Kohli recently missed the Afghanistan ODIs due to a hamstring injury.
Shubman Gill is about to win his maiden ODI series as captain against a quality team, according to Aakash Chopra.
"Shubman Gill drew the series in his first assignment (as captain) against England. He scored more than 700 runs, and his performance was excellent. He has returned to face England once again. If he wins the series here, it will be his first win against top teams. He has won against Afghanistan, but lost against Australia and New Zealand as a captain.
The better thing than that is the way his bat is talking. In fact, it's almost like Shubman Gill vs Joe Root. If we see this year's ODI numbers, you will say Shubman Gill is talking to the sky, and if you see the last two years' numbers, Joe Root has an average of 70. That is absolutely stellar," Chopra added.
Shubman Gill scored 80 runs off 75 balls in the first ODI before retiring hurt, while Joe Root made 76* during England's innings.
