Since the end of the three-match Test series at home against New Zealand, the pressure has been on the two veterans of the Blue Brigade, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have been under a few questions going into the five-match Test series in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The question stands if they could make a return in form for the bumper series.
Virat Kohli collected only 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.5, with one solitary half-century he made in the second innings of the opening Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru before losing his sharpness in the rest of the series against the quality spin of the Kiwi side in Pune and Mumbai.
The same happened with Rohit, the captain of the team, who grabbed 91 runs in six innings at an average of just over 15 with one half-century besides his name. He is also expected to be absent during the opening game of the BGT 2024-25 in Perth.
Basit Ali backs both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to fire in Australia
In the current year 2024, the former Indian captain has collected 250 Test runs in 12 innings at an average of 22.73 with a strike rate of around 70, shouldering on just one fifty. His record, however, down under has been the lay of hope for the fans to claim their third successive series victory in those conditions.
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But, the poor form in the home Test season has led the pundits and the fans of the game to question their potential end in the format. Along with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the two experienced all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have also been put under the microscope.
But the former middle-order batter of the Pakistan side, Basit Ali, has advised the fans not to be impatient with these experienced players and lose trust in them, who have been the heroes of Indian cricket for such a long time.
“What they are talking about now is removing Virat, removing Rohit, removing Ashwin. Do you have any players of their quality? Will you bring Abhishek Sharma, a T20 player? Tell me.” Basit shared his view on the video, uploaded to his YouTube channel.
He also admitted that there had been a lack of match practice for some of the batters, who decided to ignore the Duleep Trophy 2024 before the start of the home season against Bangladesh. While the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Sarfaraz Khan featured in those games, Virat Kohli and Rohit refused to take part.
“There’s a lack of match practice for both Rohit and Virat Kohli. They need matches. Let them play on flat tracks so that they stay on the wicket for at least two sessions.” The 33-year-old expressed.
India has also scrapped their only practice game against the ‘A’ side before the opening game on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
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“Apne heroes ko zeroes mat banao!! We (in Pakistan) talk against Babar Azam, Shan Masood, and Mohammad Rizwan; but we don’t say that they should be out of the team. They will come back to form.” Basit Ali concluded. “But saying things like ‘end of an era’, that’s going a bit too far. Will cricket end if you don’t qualify for the World Test Championship final?”
Under Virat Kohli, India recorded their maiden Test series win down under and will aim to claim their third consecutive series victory in those conditions.