As India failed to stop Australia from winning the Melbourne Test, former Indian cricketer Surinder Khanna hit out at Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their poor form in recent matches in the game's longest format. “What are Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli doing? Take away the attention from Rishabh Pant. He played like this only from day one. He will continue to make such mistakes. Tell me about Kohli and Rohit, what have they done since the last forty years? -45 innings? They have to sit out automatically if the selectors don't do it then they have to do it themselves, even if you go to bowl they come out experience. The shot that is their goal, why not play David Gower and Gundappa Vishwanath scored so many points by playing cut shots,” Surinder Khanna told ANI.
Rohit struggled with his form and put in all the hard work during the fifth day but eventually returned to the dressing room with nothing to show. Instead of going all guns blazing, Rohit adopted a defensive stance and scored nine runs after facing 40 deliveries. After effectively dealing with the pace threat, he decided to take on his counterpart Pat Cummins. His attempt to tap the ball away resulted in a big outside edge, which reached Mitchell Marsh at the gully. With his head and shoulders slumped, Rohit returned to the dugout and left the floodgates open.
After Rohit's dismissal, everything fell apart for the Indian team. KL Rahul joined the Indian skipper for a five-ball duck in the same over. Virat Kohli lost his discipline and was tricked into driving the ball on the last ball by left-armer Mitchell Starc before lunch. Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant provided stability and security by leading the charge for the Australian bowling attack.
The 68-year-old further said that if both of them continue to fail, the selectors will have to make a call.
“Our batsmen Kohli and Rohit are out of form and the selectors have to take a call. If they don't announce… then the selectors have to announce something. When we go to the next Test, play with youngsters, we will win, just as under Bumrah we We won the first test We have outplayed Australia We have been struggling ever since Rohit came back I may sound harsh but you have to make tough decisions if you want to win We are watching, we are crying… we have the right to say this,” the former cricketer added.
Barring an unbeaten 100 in the first Test in Perth, the Aussies have managed to keep Virat quiet as he has managed just 26 runs in his other four innings, including three single-figure scores.
Virat has scored just 614 runs at an average of 21.92, with just one century and two fifties to his name and a best score of 100*. In nine Tests this year he has scored 376 runs at an average of 25.06, with just a century fifty to his name in 17 innings. His best score is 100*.
The decade of 2020 has not been kind to Virat the Test batter. In 37 Tests and 64 innings, he has managed just 1,964 runs at an average of 31.67, with just three centuries and nine fifties and a best score of 186.
In the ongoing final of the ICC World Test Championship, Virat has scored 687 runs at an average of 36.15 in 12 matches and 21 innings, with two centuries and three fifties and a best score of 121.
On the other hand, Rohit's return was marked by his lack of form and his struggle to get his name out there. The veteran opener has just 31 runs from five innings, at an average of 6.20.
Rohit has faced criticism over his Test batting since the Bangladesh series. He collected just 42 runs in two Test matches while averaging just 10.50.
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