During the recently concluded Melbourne Test between Australia and India, former India coach Ravi Shastri gave a straightforward judgement over Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s future in international cricket.
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His remarks come after the two Indian batting stalwarts have been going through rough form with the bat in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
Virat Will Play, Rohit Must Take a Call: Shastri
On the last day of the MCG Test, Shastri shared his view on both batter’s road ahead after this series. He believes that Kohli will continue playing for a few more years while Sharma needs to take a call himself on his career.
Looking at their recent performances, many Indian cricket fans want both of them to quit after this series.
Kohli did get a hundred in the Perth Test but has been quiet in other games, nicking the outside off balls match after match. Sharma, on the other hand, hasn’t looked in good touch at all after missing the first match.
Speaking on the Star Sports, Shastri said, “No, I think Virat Kohli will play. Virat will play for some time, forget the way he got out today. I think he will play for 3 or 4 more years.”
“As far as Rohit is concerned, it’s a call. 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,” he added while talking about Sharma.
The failure of these two batters, apart from other batters not turning up on occasions, has cost India a lot in this series. On the fifth day of the MCG Test, Kohli and Sharma flopped again in a run chase of 340 runs.
Sharma, who batted in the middle order in the second and third Tests, opened in this game and logged the scores of 3 and 9. In the chase, the skipper did show some fight, though it didn’t last longer.
Kohli, on the other hand, looked good in the first innings, getting 36 runs before edging an outside-off delivery. In the second essay, he got out in a similar manner while adding just five runs.
Their poor show at the MCG meant India lost the match, with Australia taking a 2-1 lead. Now India will have to win in Sydney at any cost to square the series.
