New Delhi: One of the biggest reasons behind India’s home humbling against New Zealand was the poor form of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. India suffered their first-ever series whitewash at home in a 3-match series following the 25-run loss in the Mumbai Test. Both Rohit and Virat struggled against an impressive Kiwi attack, which troubled the Indian icons throughout the series.
Both Indian icons endured a horrendous outing in the three-match series against the Kiwis, managing to score only a fifty each. The dismal performance of star batters is certainly a cause of concern for India ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but former India captain Kris Srikkanth believes both Rohit and Virat will regain their form with the bat in India’s tour of Australia.
The former opener also made an explosive remark that Rohit will retire from Test cricket if he doesn’t perform well with the bat Down Under. Srikkanth, however, thinks differently when it comes to Kohli. He said that despite his poor run in the red-ball format, it’s too early to talk about moving on from Kohli.
Questions have been raised about the Test spots of both Kohli and Rohit after India were whitewashed by the Kiwis. Both senior batters struggled against pace and spin in the three-match affair and failed to apply themselves at the crease.
Skipper Rohit admitted to the press that he was below par with the bat and as captain in the Test series.
‘I think he himself will retire from Test cricket’
Srikkanth, who was known for his flamboyant batting, said that Rohit would retire himself if he fails to fire in Australia.
“100 percent, you have to start thinking ahead (if India doesn’t do well in Australia). If Rohit Sharma doesn’t do well, I think he himself will retire from Test cricket, for all you know. He will play ODIs only. He has already left T20I cricket. We have to keep in mind that he is also ageing. He is no longer getting younger,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube show.
However, Srikkanth praised Rohit for acknowledging his mistakes and opined that he has already taken the first step in his road to recovery.
Srikkanth backs Kohli to find his best form Down Under
Meanwhile, Srikkanth backed Kohli to regain his form in Australia, which has been a happy hunting ground for the Indian master. With an aggregate of 1,352 runs in 13 matches including six hundreds and four fifties, Kohli averages 54 in Australia.
Indian batters were troubled by the Kiwi pacers in the first Test in Bengaluru and were destroyed by the spinners in the second and third Tests in Pune and Mumbai.
The opening Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts on November 22 in Perth.
