Indian Legend Tears Into Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli's Struggle In Perth ODI, Says 'Demons Of BGT Were Back...'
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan reflected upon Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's lacklustre performances in the Perth ODI match against Australia. Both seniors, making their comeback to international cricket, had a difficult outing. Rohit scored just eight runs at the top, and Kohli got out without scoring after facing eight deliveries. In the first match of the series, India suffered a heavy defeat, ruining their eagerly anticipated comeback. After putting a lot of effort into improving his fitness and losing around 10 kg, Rohit, who was recently relieved of his ODI captaincy, returned to the team ready to quiet his detractors. But in cloudy conditions, he appeared hesitant facing the new ball and was eventually caught at slip. Kohli, on the other hand, was caught at point after playing a delivery and falling to the fifth-stump line once more without bothering the scorekeepers. Pathan analysed India's batting difficulties in Perth, highlighting Rohit's lack of match preparation and raising the possibility that Kohli is still dealing with technical issues from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Additionally, he commended Axar Patel's steady middle-order contributions and KL Rahul's poise. "Fitness is one thing and game time is one thing. That is why Rohit looked a bit troubled. It looked like the demons of the BGT were back for Virat. I hope this is not the case in Adelaide and Sydney. KL Rahul batted well today. Shreyas Iyer got into an awkward position. Maybe he can work a bit more on his technique. Axar does well whenever he gets an opportunity to bat ahead," he said on his YouTube channel. Pathan emphasised the significance of improved preparation before to international tours while reflecting on India's problems in Perth. He claimed that India might have avoided the batting and bowling mistakes made in the first game of the series by arriving early and playing a few warm-up matches to assist them get used to Australia's pace and bounce. "Whenever you tour such countries, it is always better to go early and play some games. It was going to be difficult for India. It was going to be a challenge as the conditions would not be easy. Our bowlers could not get the right lengths. The batters also had trouble with the bounce. If you had played a game or two, these mistakes would not have happened. It is important to think about these things going forward," he added.
