It won’t be sunny in Australia. Not talking about the weather but how the players will act towards Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. The Indian batting stalwarts are going through a serious slump at the moment. Apart from being names on the team sheet, their contributions haven’t been much for the India cricket team. The Australia team knows this and would look to take full advantage of the situation.
Rohit-Kohli to face the heat
Former Australian cricketer Kerry O’Keeffe feels it won’t be easy for the aging players coming to Australia as India hunts for a hat-trick of BGT series wins Down Under. “Their champions are in the twilight, and they’re coming for one more tilt at us, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. That is the key. They are so good and have been so good, but you don’t want to come to Australia in the twilight. It’s a tough place,” O’Keeffe said on Fox Sports.
Put Rohit Sharma under pressure
He talked about targetting the opposition captain as a tactic that Australians have used for decades, and Rohit will be under the heat as well. The opener is expected to miss at least one Test at the start of the series, and Pat Cummins and co. are expected to lay down on him for doing so.
“They have the psyche that might turn that around, but Australia will go hard at them. Rohit Sharma may miss one or two Tests, but he is the captain, and Australia always tries to torpedo the visiting captain. It’s been a tactic they’ve used forever, and I think they’ll go very hard at Rohit Sharma,” O’Keeffe added.
King Kohli, getting weak?
“And Kohli, who has worried them over the years, what a stunning player he’s been, but in sport, if you sense that the King of the jungle is slightly weaker, you poke a bit of cheek at him. I’m fascinated to see what Virat Kohli ends up with at the end of the summer. It could be the decisive point in the whole summer. If he has an absolutely blazing series, India could win,” he concluded.