Rohit Sharma (L) and Virat Kohli© AFP
Indian cricket team star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have come under a lot of criticism following their side’s 0-3 series defeat against New Zealand. Both superstars failed to impress with the bat as the Indian cricket team lost three consecutive Test matches in the series. While Rohit finished the series with 91 runs an average of 15.16, Virat scored 93 runs at an average of 15.50. Former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali was extremely critical of the duo and he said that both of them are struggling in the same manner as Babar Azam.
“Babar ke baad, Rohit aur Virat ki bhi wahi situation ho gayi hai, form kharaab (After Babar, Rohit and Virat are also in the same situation, poor form),” Basit Ali said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Basit even cited an example when explaining that Rohit’s foot movement was not up to the mark during Day 3 of the third Test match against New Zealand in Mumbai.
“When Rohit missed two deliveries, struck on the pads and then on the lower abdomen, he stepped out to hit a four. This shows that his feet are not moving, form is not good. Then he hit a four off a reverse sweep,” Basit Ali said.
The former Pakistan cricketer also said that both Virat and Rohit should play domestic cricket before the series against Australia as he felt that “Test match practice” was missing.
“Virat Kohli, out of touch, not in form at all. He needs to play domestically before flying to Australia, Rohit also. Test match practice cannot be seen,” Basit Ali said.
“It was the mandate that you must make yourself available for domestic cricket to be eligible for India selection. Everyone played, all of them performed in patches – Shubman Gill, Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal…but these two (Rohit and Virat) were given a free hand and allowed to exclude themselves,” he added.
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