Team India press conference: 2027 World Cup in sight, Gambhir wants Rohit and Kohli to be available for most games

India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday said he expects senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to be available for most of the ODIs and Tests after retiring from T20 Internationals expressing hope that they would keep their fitness to be in the reckoning for the 2027 50over World CupBoth Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from the T20I format after Indias World Cup win earlier this month and were expected to miss the upcoming tour of Sri LankaHowever they both were named in Indias squad for next months three ODIs in the island nation keeping in mind the Champions Trophy which is slated for the first quarter of the next yearSpeaking to the media in his first Team India press conference after being named Indias head coach Gambhir highlighted the importance of workload management for ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah but expected the regular presence of Rohit and Kohli going forwardIve said it before that workload management for someone like Jasprit Bumrah is important For a batter if they can play consistently if theyre in good form might as well just play all the games he saidWith Rohit and Virat are not playing T20 cricket we only have two formats to look after Im sure theyre going to be available for most of the games he addedBut for Bumrah Gambhir said the one rare kind of a bowler deserves to be handled with more care due to injury concerns that are a regular nuisance for fast bowlersIts our responsibility to try and have him fresh for most of the important games and thats why workload management not only for Jasprit Bumrah but for most of the fast bowlers becomes very very important he saidAlso ReadFitness concerns went against Pandyarsquos captaincy claims says Ajit AgarkarGambhir also said he expects Rohit and Kohli to focus on their fitness keeping in my mind the 2027 ODI World Cup slated to be held in South AfricaThey have shown what they can deliver on the big dayin the T20 World Cup in the 50overs World Cup as well he saidOne thing I can be very clear of is that both of those guys have a lot of cricket left in them More importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia coming up they will be motivatedBecause then hopefully if they can keep their fitness to make 2027 World Cup as well but this is a very personal decision I cant say how much cricket is left in them Gambhir saidGambhir did not rule out having three different teams for respective formats but said it is imperative for the Indian team to show consistency even though the T20I side is in transition following the retirements of Rohit Kohli and allrounder Ravindra JadejaSee eventually going forward these things happen For example Virat and Rohit and Ravindra are not there in T20Is But I cant say right now that there are going to be three different teams he saidI think T20I team will obviously go through a transition with three seriously good players worldclass players retiring from the formatBut yes in 50overs and Test cricket the more consistent we can be the better it is going to be The more players in both the formats it is always better for any team he saidGambhir said he would try to ensure a happy dressing room as international cricket can produce situations of pressure and insecurityMy experience or my learning has been very simple In a sport its all about winning so I dont deviate from something like that he said while talking about the lessons he learnt as mentors of IPL teams Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riderswe try and play hard and more importantly we try and come back in a winning dressing room A happy dressing room is a winning dressing room I think I dont like complicating things and thats the kind of profession Im in he assertedSometimes international cricket can be tough and it can be insecure as well because only 15 can play But its the job of the support staff to try and keep them in a happy state and that is going to be one thing which we definitely will be working for he addedWith agency inputs