 "Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are two of India's biggest stars in the current generation. Reuters")
India vice-captain Shubman Gill played down conversations on the ODI futures captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, stating that there were no discussions in the dressing room regarding the possible retirements of the two stalwarts ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand .
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Rohit and Kohli, along with Ravindra Jadeja, had retired from Twenty20 Internationals after India had won the T20 World Cup in June last year, and speculations are rife that the two, or at least one of them, might call time on their 50-over career if the Men in Blue win the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy on Sunday.
“There is no talk about retirement in the dressing room, now,” Gill said during the pre-match press conference ahead of the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand on Sunday.
Gill hails ‘best batting line-up’ ahead of Champions Trophy final
Gill feels privileged to be a part of “best batting line-up” but said the depth in their order allows the top three to express themselves freely.
“This is the best batting line up I am part of. Rohit is one of the best openers (in the world) and Virat, we need not tell about him. But our team has depth in batting and that allows the top order to bat with bit more freedom,” Gill, India’s most prolific 50-over batter in the last two years, said.
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On the match front, Gill is aware of the huge pressure on them to win the trophy but exuded confidence that they will come up trumps unlike 2023 ODI World Cup which they lost to Australia .
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More Shorts“We are all excited for the final. Last time we could not win the 50 over World Cup but we are determined to win this time,” he said.
The prolific ODI batter believes that the team that handles pressure on big day will win the blue riband trophy.
“There will be big match pressure. But whichever team deals with pressure will win the final. We just need to take it like any other match, and good teams will do that. We have played four matches here and done well, so there is no added pressure on us.”
With PTI inputs