Former Team India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara said that playing each and every series will be important for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, considering that the duo is playing just one format.
“For both of them, I think each and every series will be very important because when you are just playing one format. It is important for a player to be in touch with the game and they will be playing after a bit of a break which makes it a little more challenging,” he said during the Media Day ahead of the first Test match against South Africa.
Kohli and Sharma made their appearances during the ODI series against Australia. They both will be back in action during the upcoming 50-over series against South Africa from November 30.
Pujara, being a Test veteran, said that when a player plays only one format in international cricket, he tries to find the rhythm. He also said that Kohli and Sharma have been working hard and will hopefully play for India in the ODI World Cup 2027.
“Having that experience of playing just one format, I can talk from my experience that when you play international cricket after a long time, you are trying to find the rhythm. When it comes to white ball cricket, it`s slightly easier,” said the 37-year-old former cricketer.
“But at the same time, because of the age they have to work hard and which they have been, they have seen the results recently that they have scored runs. And we are hopeful that they will carry on playing till their 2027 World Cup,” added the veteran of 103 Test matches.
Sharma, 38, smashed 73 and 121 not out in the second and third ODIs, respectively, in Australia to walk away with the `Player of the Series` award, while 37-year-old Kohli scored an unbeaten 74 in the third match.
Before the ODIs, Team India will engage in a two-match Test series against the Proteas.
IND vs SA Tests: Full Squads
India: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (WK).
(With PTI Inputs)