Nehra criticizes Gambhir's decision to include senior Indian duo in Sri Lanka ODI series

Former Indian fast bowler Ashish Nehra has criticized head coach Gautam Gambhir for his decision to call up senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. 

Initially, it was anticipated that these key players, along with Jasprit Bumrah, would be rested for the tour due to the demanding 2024 season, which included the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup. 

With a busy home season on the horizon featuring series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, their rest was seen as a strategic move.

Despite the expectation of rest, Gambhir opted to include Sharma and Kohli, especially since the duo has retired from T20 Internationals. 

The coach's decision aimed to have them available for the ODI series, with only one more ODI series scheduled before the Pakistan-hosted 2025 Champions Trophy.

Nehra, however, believes Gambhir missed a chance to experiment with new talent. 

“The next series India play is 2-3 months later, a rare thing for us. So for players like Rohit and Kohli...I feel there was a better chance of giving opportunities to other players during this series. I know Gambhir is a new coach, and he wants to spend some time with the experienced players, but it isn't like he doesn't know the two of them," Nehra said.

"He is not a foreign coach who wants to get his equation right with Kohli and Rohit. So it was a good opportunity for him to try out the new players, and Rohit and Kohli could play when the home season begins. I'm not saying it is a wrong approach, but it could have been one of the strategies in this series,” he added.

It is worth noting that Sri Lanka holds a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series, with the opening game ending in a tie.