"The numbers are crazy" - Rohit Sharma hails teammate ahead of India's 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh

Team India captain Rohit Sharma hailed Shubman Gill as a batter who has produced terrific numbers in ODI cricket over the last three to four years. Downplaying the batter's poor performance in the Test series in Australia, Rohit opined that it is wrong to compare performances in different formats.

Gill was Player of the Series in the three-match ODI series against England at home, played ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. He scored 259 runs in three innings at an average of 86.33 and a strike rate of 103.60. The performance came on the back of a forgettable Test tour of Australia, which India lost 4-1.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of India's opening 2025 Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh in Dubai, Rohit praised Gill.

"Gill is a very classy player. There was never a doubt about his ability in this squad. We tend to mix formats and I don't think that's the right way to judge any player. Certain players have their strengths in certain formats. If one format doesn't go well, doesn't mean that the other format will be the same. What happened in Australia, things have changed suddenly in a different format," he said.

On the decision to elevate the Punjab batter to vice-captain in the ODI format, the 37-year-old veteran cricketer added:

"With Gill, we know the numbers are crazy. He's been superb for us in the last 3-4 years. Obviously, there's a reason that he's been elevated to be the vice-captain. Hopefully, he has a great tournament and it eventually will help us achieve things that we are looking to achieve."

Gill has played exactly 50 ODIs for India and has notched up 2,587 runs at an average of 60.16 and a strike rate of 101.93, with seven hundreds and 15 fifties.

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"Dubai will be a different challenge" - Rohit Sharma on India's 3-0 win over England

The Men in Blue hammered England 3-0 in a three-match series at home ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. Reflecting on the series win, Rohit admitted that the hosts were looking to tick certain boxes and managed to do the same.

"Against England, we played the brand and the ethics of the team that we wanted to. When you are playing a series before an ICC tournament, you want to tick off certain boxes and I thought we ticked off those boxes and played very good cricket," the Indian captain commented.

Rohit, however, added that playing the Champions Trophy in Dubai will be a different challenge for which they will need to quickly assess the conditions. He elaborated:

"We wanted to do things where we left off in the World Cup and carry on that kind of momentum into that England series and from there onwards to the Champions Trophy. But we do understand that every series we play is a different challenge, every venue has its own challenge, and Dubai obviously will be a different challenge. So quickly assessing what's required to do here tomorrow will be the key for us."

India have been placed in Group A for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They will take on Bangladesh on February 20, Pakistan on February 23, and New Zealand on March 2. The Men in Blue will play all their matches in Dubai.