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In a startling admission about the Indian dressing room, former Australian cricketer Brendon Julian claimed that Virat Kohli is not gelling well with head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma. Notably, a five-match Test series between India and Australia is set to start in Perth on November 22.
Given his impressive record in Australia, India needs its ace batter Virat Kohli to be in peak shape going into the series. But in the last series against New Zealand, where he only scored 93 runs in three games, Kohli has appeared to be struggling in the red-ball format. Brendon Julian recently offered his opinions on Kohli's performance, stating that the batter has not been playing at his best lately and is most likely not getting along with the coach.
Julian on Kohli
"The way that Virat Kohli got out against New Zealand – for him to get out like that in that Test series was unbelievable. Kohli is not at his best. He is not gelling with the captain probably and the coach but having said that, he can quickly turn it around. But if they start pulling in Perth, I reckon it'll be all over. The thing with Virat Kohli is that I think he would rather bat in Australia. The way he batted against New Zealand in India, he was getting out to spinners. The nemesis for him would be Nathan Lyon,” said Julian on Fox Sports.
Julian claims Aussies to beat India in four days
Julian said that Australia will defeat India in four days because the Rohit Sharma-led team is showing a number of concerning signs leading up to the series opener, including the absence of their captain.
"The Aussies will clean up India in 4 days. There are worrying signs for India, straight at the top. Rohit Sharma is not playing the first Test; he has come out and said that. So Jasprit Bumrah will captain the side. Now that's a lot of pressure when you're the opening bowler. He is a wonderful bowler; no doubt about that. But all of a sudden when you're opening the bowling and captaining the side, that's a whole different ball game," he added.
Notably, for personal reasons, India captain Rohit Sharma is not expected to play in the opening Test. The India captain and his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, are reportedly expecting their second child. To prepare for the series, Rohit, however, practices often in India. Vice captain Jasprit Bumrah, who commanded the squad once against England in July 2022, will take over in his absence.
