NEW DELHI: At present, the Indian think tank is walking a tightrope, trying to build the team around a fresh crop of players while maintaining links with the experienced core. In that context, head coach Gautam Gambhir, who oversees this process, was clearly pleased to see contributions coming from both ends of the spectrum.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Providing weight to the senior contingent, Virat Kohli emerged Player of the Series in the ODIs against South Africa, scoring two centuries and a fifty — a swift return to the highs he consistently reached from 2015 onwards. Rohit Sharma added a couple of fifties, underlining his enduring touch and class. Gambhir expressed hope that the duo will continue delivering such performances, which will keep the ODI side in strong shape.“Look, they’re quality players. I’ve said it many times as well that they’re world-class players. They are quality players in this format and their experience is really important in the dressing room,” Gambhir said at the post-match press meet after India’s nine-wicket win that sealed the one-day series 2-1.“They’re doing what they do. They’ve been doing it for such a long time for Indian cricket. Hopefully, they can continue doing the same, which is always going to be important come the white-ball format and the 50-over format,” he added.The rest given to seniors Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, coupled with the injury-enforced absence of Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya, provided an opportunity to test some of the younger players’ skillsets. Gambhir was particularly impressed with the growth of Harshit Rana as a bowling all-rounder.“That’s one of the reasons why we are trying to probably develop someone like Harshit, who can actually bat at No. 8 and contribute with a bat.“That’s how we need to find the balance, because come South Africa in two years’ time (2027 ODI WC), we would be needing three proper seamers as well. And if he can continue to develop as a bowling all-rounder, it’s going to give us a massive boost,” he said.Gambhir was also pleased with the outings of seamers Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna in the series.“With Jaspreet Bumrah coming back and what we saw of Arshdeep, Prasidh and Harshit in this series was incredible because all these three guys do not have a lot of experience, especially in 50-over format. They’ve hardly played, what, less than 15 ODIs. But they’ve done a fabulous job,” he said.
