Indian batting greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been supported by former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth, who highlighted that they came to play after a long time and nothing more could have been asked of them. He also said that he cannot be assessed on the basis of his performance in just one game.
India’s much-awaited Australia tour has begun; However, his start in the series was not very solid. After a poor performance with the bat, the Men in Blue lost the first match to the Australian team by seven wickets in Perth. They will advance to Adelaide for the second ODI, and with plenty of time left before the match, the Shubman Gill-led side can aim for a strong comeback.
Chris Srikkanth said, “But Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came suddenly; honestly you can’t say anything.”
Former Indian team opener Kris Srikkanth, who is known for his controversial stance on Indian players and management, has supported the greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“It is difficult to suddenly go to Australia and play after playing in Delhi. But Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came suddenly, honestly you can’t say anything. They were looking bad. They were also hurting a bit because of the rain.”
However, although he said that not much can be said about the two legends who have made their much-awaited comeback, he did not mince his words while taking a dig at the Indian team for losing the game within the first ten overs, and also gave due credit to Mitchell Marsh for the captaincy.
“There are ins and outs in a short game and it takes time for me to settle down with the batsmen. It’s difficult, but I still believe India lost the match in the first ten overs. Hats off to Marsh’s captaincy,” he said on his YouTube channel ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.
“Despite the rain, we could have done better if our strategy had been better” – Kris Srikkanth
The former opener, along with Rohit and Virat Kohli, was also interested in other developments in the team. He was disappointed with Kuldeep Yadav being overlooked for unnecessary batting depth. He was also caught in some confusion regarding demoting KL Rahul to no. 6 batting positions.
“I still believe that on paper India is a better team. I still defend my statement. I think our strategy was wrong, the combination was wrong, the batting order strategy was wrong, the approach was wrong,” he said.
He further said, “Forget about rain or no rain. Despite the rain, we could have done better if our strategy had been better. Australia bowled well, but at the end of the day if you get the strategy and combinations right, we still have a good chance.”
“We can’t decide from one innings. He is a world-class white-ball player,” Srikkanth said.
Despite the defeat and the two great players being out for just 8 and 0, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have received immense support from the former selector. He has also shown full confidence in him to perform well in the upcoming games, adding that Virat Kohli often likes such challenges.
“I am confident that we will bounce back. It may seem that Rohit and Virat are rusty but maybe not so. We cannot decide from one innings. They are world-class white-ball players. Virat likes these kind of conditions; he wants to come back and prove himself.”
“He will take it as a challenge and perform well. Similarly with Rohit, he will play freely. I am not worried about it. Only combination and strategy is important,” he said.
Also read: Ravi Shastri keeps Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s 2027 World Cup hopes alive after Perth horror show
