India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has admitted that the team is in a transition phase but insisted that it’s not about phasing out senior players. It’s more about preparing for the next cycle of the World Test Championship.

Seamless Transition Across Key Departments

Gambhir is satisfied with the way transition is taking place in both the batting and bowling units, which is not witnessed during previous transitions. He clarified that it’s a collective responsibility for seamless transition.

“It’s not the role of only the support staff, but you people as well. It’s about not just criticising them, but trying to hug them out as well. Transition doesn’t happen only for us; it happens for the entire country,” Gambhir said.

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Senior Players Faring Poorly During Transition

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s futures in the side have been widely debated after India suffered a 2-1 deficit to Australia. Rohit has been one of the major casualties of this season, as he has an average of only 10.83.

New Faces Coming Up In The Transition Phase

“Yeah, it’s an exciting time in Indian cricket. I felt that when transitions happened in the past, there was one department that was carrying the team forward. But at the moment, if you see this transition, it’s happening in both departments. And it has already started. You see some younger fast bowlers coming in. You have got some younger batters who have been on their first tour to Australia and done exceptionally well. Look at Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar, who is on his second tour. Akash Deep has done really well. I think the conversations that have happened are only around how we can play well in this series,” he added.

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India had looked towards the younger lot with Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in the pipeline, and new pacers like Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep have come into the fray over the past year.

Injury Setbacks And Retirement

Injuries have also played their part with Mohammed Shami missing the tour of Australia, and veteran R. Ashwin retiring from Test cricket mid-series to hasten the team’s desire for new faces.