'You cannot survive on your past laurels and reputation...': Ex-India cricketer passes verdict on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's poor show in Adelaide

Former India cricketer Atul Wassan opened up on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's flop show in the second Test match against Australia. Rohit and Virat scored 9 and 18 runs respectively in two innings of the pink-ball Test played in Adelaide. Wassan reckons that both senior batters have to perform well consistently because living on previous records will make things difficult for them.

He also opined that their age is one of the factors behind their inconsistency in the longest format of the game.

"Look, I knew this focus would come on Virat and Rohit. This would come again and again. But look, their exploits, you will start seeing less of it as they age. When you get older, it happens. You think that he will do it in every match. That is not possible. But their value is worth its weight in gold. Because them standing there, their staying in the team, adds depth in the team. That is very important. But you have to perform. You cannot survive on your past laurels and reputation. Your past body of work can only give you this much leverage. Then it starts troubling you when expectations get high, but your potency is low as you age. I think it is very important for them to stay and pull their weight," Wassan told ANI.

Kohli smashed an unbeaten century in the first Test match in Adelaide where Men in Blue defeated Australia by 295 runs. Before that, the former India captain failed to score big in the longest format of the game. Kohli has just scored 373 runs in his eight Test outings this year. On the other hand, Rohit has made 142 runs in six Tests across 12 innings at an average of 11.83, with best score of 52 and just one fifty to his name. This year, Rohit has made 597 runs in 12 Tests and 23 innings at an average of 27.13, with two centuries and two fifties and best score of 131.

ALSO READ: 'Like asking an opening batter about trying to take 10 wickets next day': Josh Hazlewood blames media for twisting his comments

ALSO READ: 'So what if you get dropped, you have the IPL': Sunil Gavaskar believes Rishabh Pant can turn the Adelaide Test in India's way but won't

Wassan also opined that Rohit should open in the second Test alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal because of Rohit's mindset and KL Rahul has a capacity to play up and down.

"Now I think it is a mistake that Rohit Sharma did not go and open. I think so. Because his mindset, his mentality is not of middle order batter. But KL (Rahul) has the capacity to play up and down. I think it is a tactical mistake. That would not work. Rohit is a great captain. No matter how he plays, how he plays his shots, and the kind of game he has, in Australia, he is more likely to come off. More likely to be successful. The mistake he made in the New Zealand series, that he tried to play his natural game against the tide. Against the run of play, that was a bit difficult. Because now it is 6 innings (against NZ). Now he has gone there. Now it is 2 innings. So there will be a bit of pressure. But I think he should come back. Just play to his own potential, capacity and talent. And we will all be alright," he added.

After winning the first Test, Australia levelled the series 1-1 and now both teams will lock horns against each other for the third Test match which is scheduled to start from December 14 at the iconic Gabba. The ongoing Test series is important for India to seal their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final which will take place in England next year.