Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli 'have a lot of cricket left in them'

New India coach Gautam Gambhir has laid out the roadmap for the immediate future, stating that veteran batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will certainly be part of his plans until the 2027 World Cup provided they remain fit.

Rohit, 37, and Kohli, 35, announced their retirements from T20 Internationals last month after helping India lift the T20 World Cup title following a thrilling win over South Africa in the final in Barbados.

However, both are available for ODIs and Tests. The next major assignments for the Indian team are the four-Test tour of Australia and the 50-over Champions Trophy next year. The following two years have a T20 World Cup and a 50-over World Cup. Which means the star batsmen can expect to play until 2027, if they remain in form and are fit.

Speaking in his first press conference since replacing Rahul Dravid at the helm of the national team, Gambhir said both senior players still had plenty to offer.

"I think they've shown what they can deliver on the big stage, whether it's the T20 World Cup or the (2023) 50-over World Cup," Gambhir said ahead of his first assignment - three T20 Internationals and three ODIs in Sri Lanka that start on Saturday in Pallekele.

"One thing I can be very clear of is that both those guys have a lot of cricket left in them. More importantly, with the Champions Trophy (in 2025) and a big tour of Australia (from November 2024), obviously they would be motivated enough.

"Then, hopefully, if they can keep their fitness, the 2027 World Cup as well. But this is a very personal decision. I can't say (for sure) how much cricket is left in them. Ultimately it's up to the players how much they can contribute to the team's success.

"Ultimately, it's the team that's important. But looking at what Virat and Rohit can deliver, I think they still have a lot of cricket. They're world class players and any team would want to have both of them for as long as possible."

The other main talking point from the selection of the Indian teams for the tour of Sri Lanka was the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as T20 captain in place of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who had a very good T20 World Cup and was the next in line to take over from Rohit.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that Pandya lost out on India's T20 captaincy to Suryakumar because of concerns over his availability after frequent injury absences.

"Fitness has been something that he's struggled with," Agarkar said in Mumbai.

"As selectors, it becomes difficult then. The thought behind it was that we want someone who is likely to be available more."

Pandya reportedly opted out of the three-match ODI series, which is possibly another reason why he was overlooked. Young batsman Shubman Gill was named vice-captain for both T20s and ODIs.

Pandya is "still a very important player," Agarkar said. "And that's what we want him to be, those skill sets are hard to find."

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What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”