Team India is set to return to action with a three-match ODI series against the West Indies in Barbados. The Indian team is coming off a successful Test series in the West Indies, where they secured a 1-0 win, with the second Test ending in a draw due to a washout on the final day. This ODI series will be India’s first since March when they faced Australia and suffered a 1-2 defeat at home.
In the Test series against the West Indies, one of the major positives for India was Virat Kohli’s impressive form. During the series, he smashed his first overseas Test century in almost five years, with his last away century scored in December 2018 in Perth. Kohli’s century came in the second Test, scoring a brilliant 121 before being run out.
Kohli had also ended a three-year drought without a Test century during the series against Australia earlier this year. Between 2019 and 2022, he struggled to reach the three-figure mark, and this became a topic of discussion throughout that period, especially after India resumed cricketing action following the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Addressing the importance of players like Kohli reaching centuries, Indian captain Rohit Sharma was asked about any concerns or discussions within the team regarding Kohli’s lack of tons.
“I’ve answered this question a lot of times. All the outside talk, who scored how many, took how many wickets. People who say such things don’t know what happens inside. For us, what happens inside stays inside. We prefer that. For us, the most important is to win matches, not who’s talking about what. It doesn’t matter to us,” Rohit said in the press conference.
Rohit has been asked this question multiple times and emphasized that the team doesn’t pay attention to “outside noises.” He stated that the focus is on winning matches, and the team’s priority remains the upcoming three-ODI series against the West Indies.
“Our priority is the three ODI matches right now. We’re focussing on that,” he further said.
After the ODI series, India will face the West Indies in a five-match T20I series, with Hardik Pandya leading the side. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will continue to be absent from both formats.
