Team India could be a side in transition but head coach Gautam Gambhir doesn’t think so. He’s focused on the tour Down Under and has backed captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to strike form in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India’s qualification for the World Test Championship final is now uncertain and the veteran duo scored only one half-century each in 10 innings against New Zealand and Bangladesh in the current home season.

Rohit tallied 133 at an average of 13.30, while Kohli fared marginally better with 192 at 21.33. The results have been disastrous: India were whitewashed 3-0 by Tom Latham’s team at home for the first time.

“Not at all,” Gambhir said at the news conference in Mumbai on Monday morning when asked if he was worried about the form of the senior duo.

“I have got no concerns whatsoever over Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in future as well.

“I think for me, the most important thing is that they are still working really hard, they are still passionate, they still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important.

“The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me and for the entire group as well. I feel there’s a lot of hunger, especially
after what has happened in the last series.”

Rohit is 37 and Kohli 36, and there have been questions about the inevitable transition of the team. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin, 38, and Ravindra Jadeja, who turns 36 next month, are also nearing the end of their careers. But the head coach is not looking at it that way.

“Look, honestly I’m not even thinking that the team is in transition and that kind of stuff,” Gambhir said. “The only thing that is there at the moment in my mind is... we go to Australia to play five Test matches.

“And I’ve said it, that there are some incredibly tough people in that dressing room who have to achieve a lot of good things in the future as well. So you guys can keep talking about the transition and all that stuff.

“For me, I think they’re still very hungry and till the time they’re very hungry, I’m sure that they’ve got a lot of fire to achieve a lot of success for the nation.

“And you should never doubt their passion for the country. So I feel that transition or no transition, those things can happen, and those things will keep happening in Indian cricket, but at the moment it’s the five Test matches that are important.”

Gambhir, however, didn’t shirk responsibility for the loss to New Zealand and admitted they were outplayed. But he also highlighted the importance of moving on.

“I am not going to sit here and defend (the loss against New Zealand)... I think we were outplayed in all the three departments,” Gambhir said.

“They were more professional and we accept that. And I think the criticism what we are receiving, we take it with both hands and we keep moving forward, keep getting better every day.

“Three Test matches before, we had an incredible Test match in Kanpur (against Bangladesh). So I know that we haven’t played our best cricket, but it doesn’t change that Australia is a new series and we go out there thinking that we’re going to definitely try and win that series.

“The first and foremost challenge is obviously the conditions. In these 10 days, if we can get good, proper preparation before the start of the series, I think we are going to be in really good shape. And we’ve got a lot of experienced players who’ve been to Australia a lot many times.

“Their experience will come in handy for the young players as well. These 10 days are going to be very crucial, but come (November) 22nd morning (first Test in Perth), I think we should be absolutely ready to fire from ball one.”

Gambhir spoke about the importance of adapting to the conditions and hoped that the nine-day break between the first and second Tests would help them prepare for the pink-ball game in Adelaide.

“When you play back home in India as compared to when you play in Australia, obviously the conditions are completely different,” he said.

“So that is one of the challenges which we all feel, be it the support staff or be it the players as well.

“I think we’ve got nine days before the pink ball Test match and we’ve got a two-day practice game against I think Prime Minister’s XI.

“So I think there’s got to be enough time for us to prepare for the pink ball Test match and it’s going to be exciting. I think that is something which a lot of people actually look forward to because it’s a new thing.”