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Ex-India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar praised ODI captain Shubman Gill for spending time with his predecessor, Rohit Sharma, during the rain break in the series opener against Australia, but jokingly warned him not to offer Rohit any popcorn. The two were seen sharing a popcorn bucket at Perth's Optus Stadium dressing room while waiting for the rain to subside on Sunday, October 19.
Nayar, who worked closely with Rohit during his off-season fitness transformation, humorously advised tje newly-appointed
captain to keep the popcorn away from the Nagpur-born. After their early dismissals in the first powerplay, the duo was seen engaged in a long conversation in the dressing room as rain repeatedly halted play.
"In my opinion, the effort that Shubman Gill is putting in here to make sure that Rohit Sharma is comfortable, is commendable. Because what happens at times is that the awkwardness in the dressing room, even if you played a lot together, and you know that he has backed you, when you become his captain, you still want that person to feel like you care about him," Abhishek Nayar said on Star Sports.
"Shubman Gill can sit anywhere he wants in the dressing room, but I think that he strategically sat beside Rohit Sharma. Whatever he can give Rohit Sharma to be successful, he is trying to do that. As long as he does not offer him popcorn, he is doing the right thing," he added.
Rohit and Gill had a tough outing in overcast conditions against the new ball after being asked to bat first. The opening pair struggled against a probing spell from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, as India slipped into early trouble. Rohit, returning to international cricket, was dismissed for eight, while Gill managed just 10 runs in his maiden match as ODI captain.
Multiple rain interruptions disrupted the Men in Blue's rhythm in the contest, which was eventually reduced to 26 overs per side. India managed 136/9 in their allotted overs, with KL Rahul top-scoring with 38 off 31 balls. For Australia, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Owen, and Matthew Kuhnemann claimed two wickets each. As per the DLS method, Australia have been set a target of 131 runs.
