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"What Gambhir thinks and says...": Shahid Afridi hits out at India Coach, Defends Rohit and Kohli

Sakshi Sharma

Shahid Afridi and Gautam Gambhir (Source: AFP)Shahid Afridi and Gautam Gambhir (Source: AFP)

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has strongly backed Indian stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and reacted with admiration after Rohit broke his long-standing ODI six-hitting record. Afridi’s comments were published in a report on Monday, where he addressed several ongoing debates around Indian cricket. He also stated that Kohli and Rohit should not be phased out of the ODI format.

“It's a fact that Virat and Rohit are the backbone of the Indian batting line-up, and the way they have played in the recent ODI series, it can confidently be said that they can play until the 2027 World Cup,” was quoted as saying in a report by Telecom Asia Sport.

He further added that India must manage their workload wisely.

“You need to preserve both these stars, and when India is playing against a weaker team, they can try some new players and rest Virat and Rohit,” he suggested.

Afridi slams Gambhir’s coaching approach

Afridi also took aim at India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, with whom he had several heated moments on the field in the past.

“The way Gautam started his stint, it looked like he thought that what he thinks and says is right, but after some time, it was proved that you are not always right,” Afridi said.

Speaking about Rohit Sharma breaking his ODI sixes record, Afridi responded with admiration rather than disappointment. Rohit recently overtook Afridi’s 351 ODI sixes, moving to 355 during India’s second ODI against South Africa in Raipur.

Afridi expressed happiness over the achievement.

“Records are meant to be broken, and this too is now bettered. I am happy that a player whom I have always liked has broken this record. My record of fastest century stood for nearly 18 years, but it was finally broken, so records are set by one player and another player comes and breaks it. This is cricket.” he said.

The former all-rounder also shared fond memories from the 2008 IPL season, when he played alongside Rohit for the Deccan Chargers.