NEW DELHI: Left-arm spinner Axar Patel believes that having Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian ODI squad will greatly support newly appointed captain Shubman Gill in his leadership journey.

Speaking after India’s second training session ahead of Sunday’s opening ODI in Perth, Axar noted that Rohit and Kohli, who last played for India in the Champions Trophy in March, look as fit and sharp as ever.

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Gill has taken over the ODI captaincy from Rohit, despite the latter leading India to the Champions Trophy title earlier this year.

“For Gill, it’s perfect, Rohit Bhai and Virat Bhai are there, and along with that, they have been captains, so they can give their input also, so it is very good growth of Gill’s captaincy,” said Axar in a joint interaction with Australian opener Travis Head.

“What has been good about Gill’s captaincy thus far is that he has not been pressurized.”

Although it has been some time since Rohit and Kohli played competitive cricket, Axar said they look as sharp as ever.

“Like Travis said, they both are world class players. We can see after the first match (how their form is). They are professionals, so they know what to do. They have been practicing in Bangalore’s Center of Excellence, so I think they are ready to go. “They are looking very good both in nets and fitness wise,” said the bowling all-rounder, who first visited Australia as an India player a decade ago.

We don’t talk about bounce of pitches here anymore, we talk about strategy

Most Indian cricketers, including Axar, have considerable experience playing in Australia, which gives them a sense of ease and confidence.

Axar added that discussions in the dressing room are more focused on strategies against the opposition rather than worrying about the bouncy tracks, given the team’s familiarity with the conditions.

“I feel that since 2015 (his first visit Down Under), there have been a lot of changes. When we used to come, the talk was about pitches, conditions, bounce and we used to play less as well.

“We started playing regularly after the 2015 World Cup, and, the series started getting longer, and after that the batters started doing well,” he said.

“When we come now it doesn’t feel like Australian conditions and we have to be more ready. We are now thinking about where we can make runs, so we talk about strategy and timing, we are not talking about the pitch, we are talking about how we can strategize,” said Axar.

Axar has got big shoes to fill in the series, having been picked ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in the squad.

“I am very confident about this series. In the Asia Cup, I did well both with bat and ball. After a long time (2022 T20 World Cup), I would be playing in Australia. I am ready for the challenge,” he said.

(With PTI Inputs)