Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are two of the modern greats of Indian cricket. Both the stalwarts have been playing international cricket for a long time now and have been a part of several memorable victories for Team India.
However, their recent form has caused concern. Both Rohit and Kohli struggled with their form in the recent New Zealand Test series. He cast doubts on his performance in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Former India chief selector MSK Prasad spoke about their recent batting performances and their chances in the Test series against Australia. Prasad feels that both the legends will find it easier to bat with pace and bounce in the Australian conditions.
‘Today we don’t struggle with pace and bounce’ – Rohit Sharma, CEC Prasad on Virat Kohli
During an interaction at RevSportz, MSK Prasad was asked if Kohli and Rohit are nearing the end of their careers and he also talked about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s scoring chances in Australia. Prasad believes that both the batsmen will be back in form in the Test series against Australia as both are good against pace and bounce.
“Both the quality cricketers we are talking about have always come on strong after a poor series. So I strongly believe Virat will be a duck to water when he goes to Australia. Rohit too. We have seen Rohit ton. and tons of runs in England and other countries, so I have no doubt,” said Prasad.
“I know these two players are struggling a bit against spin. Today we are not struggling with pace and bounce unlike in the past. We are not struggling with pace and bounce, we are struggling with quality spin,” he said.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli recently had poor results in the Test series against New Zealand. Rohit scored 62 runs at an average of 15.50 in the two Tests, while Kohli scored 88 runs at an average of 22.
Virat was dismissed by left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner in both innings while Rohit was dismissed by Santner in the second innings of the Pune Test.
“We are well equipped to play pace and bounce” – CEC Prasad
Prasad further mentioned that India also has bounce-back conditions and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be well suited to those conditions. They are both good pace players and will enjoy the conditions in Australia.
“Probably in India as well, we have international standard pitches in Australia which are hard and fast. So we are well equipped to play pace and bounce and I am 100 per cent sure that will bring the best out of our players in Australia,” explained Prasad.
Australia bowling squad in BGT 2024-25
Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been great servants of Indian cricket in various formats. However, their struggles with spin have been a concern. Conditions in Australia will be favorable for Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to step up and bounce back in the opposition fast bowling ranks.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have played enough of these fast games in their careers and will know what to expect from them. However, the Indian batsmen will also have to be wary of Nathan Lyon and his bowling.
