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India's newly crowned ODI captain, Shubman Gill, wants batting bigwigs Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to "do their magic" and bring their experience "to the table" in the upcoming three ODIs in Australia.
India's unbeaten run in the Champions Trophy concluded on a fairytale note with Rohit being named Player of the Match for his rollicking 76(83), which was the last appearance of the batting wizards. Rohit and Virat were expected to return to the Test fold, but both decided to bid adieu to the format more than a month before the England tour. Considering the seasoned duo had retired from T20Is last year, they have transformed into one-format players. On Sunday, Virat and Rohit will return to enchant the spectators for the first time after lifting the Champions Trophy final against Australia in Perth. While Rohit has returned to the format, he will solely feature as a batter. During the announcement, chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that he had personally informed Rohit about the selectors' decision to move on from him. Despite the shift in leadership, Gill has a simple message for the veterans who are going through the twilight phase of their careers. "They've been playing for India for the past 10-15 years and winning matches for us. The experience that they bring to the table is something every captain or every team wants. And that's what we are looking forward to. We just want them to go out there and do their magic," Gill said on Amul Cricket Live after India's seven-wicket win against the West Indies in 2nd Test. Australia spoiled India's dream moment in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad, and since then, the two sides have yet to meet in the format. With Australia bereft of its captain, Pat Cummins, and a couple of other key players, Gill assured that they would continue to play the brand of cricket they had established over the last three years. "We've been playing some of the best ODI cricket in the past two or three years, and nothing changes for us. It's more or less the same team that we're playing. So, very excited to go out there and play in Australia," he added. India's ODI squad for Australia: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal. (ANI)
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