Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson has backed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and senior batter Virat Kohli despite a poor run in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The star all-rounder believes that Kohli and Rohit’s Test form won’t affect them in white–ball cricket, and feels confident that the duo will be having a successful run in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli aren’t having a great time with the bat in the 2024-25 BGT down under. Despite scoring a century in Perth, Kohli failed to play a big knock in the next three matches, while Rohit completely looked out of touch in the ongoing series. “I don't think it (current poor form) will really play a part at all with Rohit Sharma and Virat's impact in one-day cricket. It's going to be different conditions where they're playing in Dubai. One-day cricket does really free them both as well,” Shane Watson was quoted as saying by India Today.
Kohli is an absolute master of one-day cricket: Shane Watson
Speaking further, Shane Watson also hailed his former IPL teammate Virat Kohli, and said that the 36-year-old is master of the ODI format. The former cricketer believes that Kohli brings out his best in the 50-over format and will play a crucial role for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Notably, Kohli finished as a leading run-getter in the 2023 ODI World Cup amassing a record 765 runs in 11 matches.
“Kohli is an absolute master of one-day cricket...Yes, he's a master of all formats, but especially ODIs. You see his extraordinary numbers over a long period of time, averaging around 57 and a strike rate of 93 over a long period of time. It's crazy to think the control that he has over his innings...We'll see that again in the Champions Trophy. Rohit, like we saw in the one-day World Cup (2023), when he was at his very best, he was taking on the game,” Watson said.
