“We are talking about players who are legends” – Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir needing to manage transition after 2025 Champions Trophy

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels one of the challenges for newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir will be managing the transition after the 2025 Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are 37 and 35 respectively and it will be interesting to note if they will continue to play in the 50-overs format.

The veteran duo recently announced their T20I retirement after taking India to glory in the T20 World Cup. Furthermore, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also called it a day from the T20I format. 

“He will have to manage the transition. One has become easy as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) have said that their T20I career is over. So you have started walking on a new path by default in the shortest format. I don’t think any of them is leaving Tests at the moment,” Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Chopra noted that the trio will also know when and how they want to leave the ODI format but it won’t be easy to fill in the big shoes.

“ODI cricket will be that 50-50 thing, that what after the Champions Trophy? The next World Cup is in 2027, so the transition will start after the Champions Trophy. He will have to figure it out. The truth is we are talking about players who are legends, whose names come among the greatest of all times. So they would also know when and how to leave, and whether any of them can stay till 2027,” Chopra added.

The former Delhi player added it will be a challenge for Gautam Gambhir to take forward Rahul Dravid’s successful legacy. 

“You have to take a huge legacy forward. India has reached the final of the last three ICC events – the WTC final, the 50-over World Cup, and have lifted the trophy in the T20 World Cup final. So Dravid has left behind a fantastic legacy because of the job he did. Rohit Sharma also wrote a huge post about that legacy. Maintaining and taking the legacy forward will be a challenging task,” he said in the same video.

“You feel that India have to progress from here. We haven’t won a series in England for a long time, so we have to win a series there. Can we retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – that will be another big thing. You will have the Champions Trophy, then the T20 World Cup, and the WTC final in between. There are three ICC events in the next two years and you expect to win at least two,” Chopra observed.

The upcoming Sri Lanka tour will be Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as India’s chief coach.