Ravi Shastri defends Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma after Perth clash. Ricky Ponting says, ‘Don’t like…’
New Delhi: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and star Australia’s legend Ricky Ponting opened up on India’s batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s comeback to international cricket in the first ODI against Australia in Perth on Sunday.
In their comeback ODI clash, both struggled, with Rohit scoring 8 off 14 balls and Kohli dismissed for an eight-ball duck. Having retired from Tests and T20Is over the past 18 months, the duo now only feature in 50-over cricket, and Sunday marked their first international appearance since the ICC Champions Trophy in early March, where they managed only modest contributions with the bat against Australia.
Rohit and Kohli’s 2027 World Cup availability uncertain
There is numerous speculation about whether the Indian cricket stalwarts Rohit and Kohli will feature in the next World Cup in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in 2027, and whether their extended break from international cricket has impacted their form ahead of their comeback in Australia.
“When you come back from a long layoff, you are obviously going to be rusty. It’s not easy for any overseas team to land in Australia, say, two days prior to a game in Perth and adjust to those conditions straight away, especially when you have that extra bounce and against quality fast bowlers,” Shastri said.
“But I think only time will tell. They’ll go to Adelaide, they have some time off to get into the nets, get their minds sorted and get back into action. So I’m in no hurry to judge, but it’s when you come back at that age, after some time, it’s about how much you’re enjoying the sport and how much hunger is there and passion is left in you to play the game,” he added.
“So if you tick the boxes in two out of those three, especially the enjoyment part of it, then you can give them both time because they’ve got class, they’ve got experience and a little bit of time will sort things out. But I’d rather wait than jump and judge immediately,” he concluded.
Ricky Ponting supported Shastri’s remark
Ponting agreed with Shastri, noting that Kohli is likely focusing on short-term goals during the Australian tour, which will help him determine whether to continue playing.
“The one thing I don’t like hearing from anyone is that ‘I’ve achieved everything in the game because I think you still have to have some really short-term goals and not just be hanging on to try and get through to the 2027 World Cup,” Ponting said.
“Virat’s always been a highly motivated person. And I’d like to think that he’s probably sat down and even just given himself some goals and things that he can achieve in this series here in Australia and not be just waiting and killing time for that next World Cup to come around,” he added.
“What we know with both of those guys, at their absolute best, yes, of course they’re in India’s best team. But can they find their best between now and when that World Cup rocks around? And that’s only an answer that, like Ravi said, that we’ll find out in a short period of time. They will get some really good batting wickets coming up over the next few weeks here in Australia. There’s not many places that are better to go and bat in a one-day game than Adelaide Oval, which is coming up in a couple of days,” Ponting concluded.
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