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Senior Indian batters, especially including the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been amid a lot of criticism after they continued their poor run of form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. While Rohit Sharma has been facing backlash after he got out, registering single digit scores in the MCG Test, Virat Kohli is under the heat as he fell to a similar dismissal.
After former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri dropped a bombshell on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s future in the longest format of the game, seeing their recent form, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was the latest to speak about it. The former Indian cricketer expressed concern over the lack of impactful contributions from the senior players, he also dropped limelight on their furture in Test cricket.
I'm not a good reader of the crystal ball: Gavaskar on future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Tests
Speaking exclusively to India Today on the sidelines of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Gavaskar pointed out the inability of the senior batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to deliver with the bat, has been the key factor in India’s struggles down under. It is to be noted that while eyeing for a draw in the MCG Test on Monday, Rohit and Kohli fell cheaply, contributing just nine and five runs respectively in the second innings.
Moreover, he also spoke at length when asked about their future in the longest format of the game. "It actually all depends on the selectors. I'm not a good reader of the crystal ball, because in Indian cricket, nobody can read a crystal ball. That is a fact. But the contributions which were expected have not come. I don't think it's a lower order problem. It's the top order that has to contribute. So, I mean, the seniors have not really made the contribution that they should have and all that they had to do was to bat out today and live to fight another day in Sydney," Gavaskar said.
Rohit Sharma’s form has been a recurring concern, where the 37-year-old has scored only 31 runs across six innings down under in BGT 2024-25. Across his last six Tests, he has managed to get just 123 runs, raising questions on his place in the side. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, has scored only 417 runs at an average below 25 this year. In BGT 2024-25, Kohli has amassed only 167 runs across seven inning.
