With India failing to prevent Australia from winning the Melbourne Test, former India cricketer Surinder Khanna took a dig at Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma over their poor form in recent matches in the longest format of the game. “What are Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli doing? Remove attention from Rishabh Pant. He used to play like this only from day one. He will continue to make such mistakes. Tell me about Kohli and Rohit, what have they doing since the last 40-45 innings? They should automatically sit outside if selectors are not doing it then they should do it themselves. You and I can’t throw them out. The kind of form they are in then even if you will bowl, they will get out. I am saying this by experience. The shot which is their scoring one, why should not they play? David Gower and Gundappa Vishwanath scored so many runs by playing cut shots,” Surinder Khanna told ANI.
Rohit has been struggling for form, and did all the hard work during the fifth day but eventually returned to the dressing room with nothing to show for it. Instead of going all guns blazing, Rohit adopted a defensive stance and mustered up nine runs after facing 40 deliveries. After effectively dealing with the pace threat, he decided to take on his counterpart Pat Cummins. His attempt to flick the ball away resulted in a thick outside edge, which carried to Mitchell Marsh at gully. With his head and shoulders slumped, Rohit returned to the dugout and left the floodgates open.
After Rohit’s dismissal, everything fell apart for the Indian team. KL Rahul joined the Indian skipper in the same over for a five-ball duck. Virat Kohli lost his discipline and got lured into playing a drive on the ball by left-armer Mitchell Starc on the final ball before lunch. Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant offered stability and assurance by leading the charge against the Australian bowling attack.
The 68-year-old further said that if both of them continue to fail, then the selectors should take a call.
“Our batters Kohli and Rohit are out of form and selectors need to take a call. If they are not announcing…then selectors need to announce something. Going into the next test, play youngsters, we will win, like under Bumrah we won the first Test. We outclassed Australia. Since Rohit came back we have been struggling. I may sound harsh but you have to take harsh decisions if you want to win. We watch, we cry…we have the right to say this,” the former cricketer added.
Except for an unbeaten 100 in the first Test at Perth, the Aussies have managed to keep Virat quiet as he has managed just 26 runs in his other four innings, including three single-digit scores.
Virat has scored just 614 runs at an average of 21.92, with just one century and two fifties to his name and best score of 100*. In nine Tests this year, he has scored 376 runs at an average of 25.06, with just a century and fifty to his name in 17 innings. His best score is 100*.
The decade of 2020s has not been kind to Virat the Test batter. In 37 Tests and 64 innings, he has managed just 1,964 runs at an average of 31.67, with just three centuries and nine fifties and best score of 186.
In the ongoing ICC World Test Championship final, Virat has scored 687 runs at an average of 36.15 in 12 matches and 21 innings, with two centuries and three fifties and the best score of 121.
On the other hand, Rohit’s return has been marked by his lack of form and struggle to put runs across his name. The seasoned opener has just 31 runs from five innings, with an average of 6.20.
Rohit has faced criticism over his Test batting since Bangladesh series. He amassed only 42 runs in two Test matches while averaging just 10.50.
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