With India’s upcoming five-match Test series against Australia looming, the form of star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has become a major talking point. The duo’s recent struggles have raised concerns after India’s embarrassing 0-3 whitewash at home to New Zealand.
Rohit managed a mere 91 runs in six innings, while Kohli fared slightly better with 93 runs as India suffered a humiliating defeat. These poor performances have sparked calls for the duo to be dropped from the Test squad.
However, former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes Rohit and Kohli’s recent slump is primarily due to mental fatigue, evident in their shot selection.
“Take nothing away from New Zealand, but it tells me India are so fatigued. Some of their shot selection, the use of bowlers, and even Rohit coming out and saying he wasn’t at his best – I just think it was mental fatigue. They’ve played so much cricket without a break, but it’ll be a little kick up the backside for them,” Clarke said on ESPN’s Around the Wicket Podcast.
Clarke expressed confidence that Rohit and Kohli can regain their form if they arrive in Australia refreshed.
“They know they’ve played well out here in Australia, and they’ll still come here with plenty of talent and that self-belief, but hopefully fresh. That’s the key for the Indian players. Virat Kohli – you can’t be that good for such a long period of time and just turn the tap off. So once he freshens up, and Rohit Sharma the same, you’ll see the best of them,” he added.
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit is likely to miss the first Test against Australia, scheduled to be played in Perth from November 22.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
* Rohit Sharma (C)
* Jasprit Bumrah (VC)
* Yashasvi Jaiswal
* Abhimanyu Easwaran
* Shubman Gill
* Virat Kohli
* KL Rahul
* Rishabh Pant (WK)
* Sarfaraz Khan
* Dhruv Jurel (WK)
* R Ashwin
* R Jadeja
* Mohd. Siraj
* Akash Deep
* Prasidh Krishna
* Harshit Rana
* Nitish Kumar Reddy
* Washington Sundar
Reserves:
* Mukesh Kumar
* Navdeep Saini
* Khaleel Ahmed
