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Former England captain Michael Vaughan is concerned about the form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025. Both Indian stalwarts struggled significantly in the recent Test series against New Zealand, where India suffered a humiliating whitewash. Rohit and Kohli will need to regain their form if India hopes to achieve a positive result in the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia.
Michael Vaughan predicts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's flop show in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
However, Vaughan remains skeptical about their ability to counter the formidable Australian bowling attack, which includes the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
“The one thing that India are going to require to win here in Australia is Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli getting big runs and getting back to their best. I hope they do, I fear they won’t," the former England captain told Fox Sports, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
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Vaughan also highlighted the potential impact of age on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's recent form. Despite their age, they will need to perform at their best to help India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“I fear that they might just be over the edge and when you face an Australian attack that is up there with the greatest that has ever played the game in their own backyard, you’ve got to arrive here with solid technique and you’ve got to arrive with amazing mentality," Vaughan further stated.
Vaughan also recalled India's historic Test series victory in Australia in 2020-21. Rishabh Pant played a crucial role in that series, notably with his unbeaten 89-run knock in the Gabba Test. Notably, Virat Kohli missed the last three Tests of that series.
“I mean last series they won, they had no Virat Kohli to chase down that target at the Gabba. Australia hadn’t lost a Test match at the Gabba in 32 years. But I will say there’s a real concern around Kohli. That full toss that he missed to Mitchell Santner, that’s not Virat Kohli. You’re looking at a player that’s just fighting for form at the minute," Vaughan concluded.
Rohit and Virat had a disappointing home season. Rohit Sharma scored a mere 91 runs in three Tests, averaging a meager 15.16. Virat Kohli fared slightly better with 93 runs, but his average of 15.50 was still far from his usual standards. Talking specifically about Kohli, his average in Test matches over the past five years has been 33. He will be eager to regain his top form in the upcoming series against Australia. India's participation in the next World Test Championship final hinges on a positive outcome in this five-match series.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
