India’s senior cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been going through torrid times recently with the bat. Both the players have served Indian cricket for a long time but have struggled for runs in the recent Tests.
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, both of them have found it tough to get going. They were expected to fire on the big occasion of the Boxing Day Test but couldn’t trouble the scorers much here as well.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri was asked about the future of these two talismanic cricketers after their failures in Melbourne. While Shastri claimed that Kohli will continue playing, he made a shocking claim on Rohit Sharma’s future.
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Ravi Shastri makes a shocking claim on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s future
During a discussion on Star Sports after the end of the first session on Day 5, Ravi Shastri expects Virat Kohli to play for some more years but feels that the time is up for the Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Shastri reckons that Rohit is struggling with his footwork and is late on the ball which is leading to his dismissals. He also praised the Australian team for their determination to win this series.
“No, I think Virat Kohli will play. Virat will play for sometime, forget the way he got out today. I think he will play for 3 or 4 more years. As far as Rohit (Sharma) is concerned, it’s call,” Shastri said during lunch break.
“At the top of the order, his footwork isn’t the same. He is probably, at times, a little late in meeting the ball. So it’s his call at the end of the series. But, having said, this Australian team want it badly. The captain wants it badly,” he added.
Ravi Shastri reveals what is troubling Rohit Sharma
Ravi Shastri also revealed the technical things that are troubling Rohit Sharma. According to him, Rohit is struggling with his footwork and he is playing away from his body.
“The determination in his eyes was evident even when he was batting yesterday. He was not going to give it away. This is the mode of dismissal. Rohit Sharma, at his best, that front foot would be closer to the pitch of the ball,” Shastri noted.
“There’s a trigger movement and then the front foot stays planted. So the bat goes at the ball, so you are playing away from the body,” he added.
Rohit Sharma looked solid with the bat initially and was looking to play a long innings. However, he was dismissed while trying to play an aggressive shot and perished in the end to the Australian skipper Pat Cummins.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in BGT 2024-25
Rohit Sharma looked solid with the bat initially and was looking to play a long innings. However, he was dismissed while trying to play an aggressive shot and perished in the end to the Australian skipper Pat Cummins.
Rohit Sharma was dismissed for just 9 off 40 balls by Pat Cummins on the fifth day. Despite looking solid initially, he perished while trying to play an aggressive shot and was caught by Mitchell Marsh at gully.
Rohit has been in poor form with the bat in the whole series. He has scored just 31 runs in five Test innings at an average of 6.20 so far. There have been talks about his retirement and he is likely to take a call on it soon.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli too has had a poor series with the bat. Apart from his century in Perth, he hasn’t looked at his best. Kohli has scored 167 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.83.