Former Australia speedster Brett Lee has advised Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to take a bit of a break after the low of New Zealand but freshen up just in time for the five-Test series starting November 22 in Perth. Kohli and Rohit tallied 93 and 91 runs, respectively, in the three Tests against New Zealand, which India lost 0-3 – their first whitewash on home soil after decades. Kohli and Rohit faced plenty of flak for letting the Indian batting down, which crumbled against spin – losing nearly 40 wickets against Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips. Losing at home just before a series as high-profile against Australia is never good news, but Lee wants Kohli and Rohit to put it at the back of their minds and start new.
Lee believes a part of India’s batting collapse was due to an unconventional batting approach: wanting to get on top of the New Zealand bowlers. While that clearly didn’t play off, Kohli, Rohit, and the rest of the batters ended up inflicting more harm than good. If Kohli struggled against spin, Rohit failed to last long against the new ball, getting out to pace frequently throughout the series. Is it technique? Mindset?
“The word on the streets has been India 3-0. But while I predicted 3-0, it was not the other way. What has happened? There’s been a lot of conjecture around the batting for India. The way they collapsed against spin, losing 37 wickets. Mitchell Santner was on fire. I think India were trying to dominate a little too much, playing shots that were out of their normal style of cricket,” Lee said on his YouTube channel.
“If you look at the Hitman and King Kohli – they got 90 runs each in the series. It’s so unlike them. They are way better players than that. It’s hard to put your fingers on why they failed. If you look at the way how Rohit Sharma got out a lot to the quicks, I can’t say there’s a technical fault there because I have seen him play for the last decade and I still believe he is one of the best in world cricket. But maybe he’s a little bit too aggressive. There were a couple of shots that he will think ‘Was there a technique issue? Was he getting forward enough?’ A little bit hesitant.”
Lee confident of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma’s comeback
Although Lee wants the duo to take time off, it’s unsure how much of it is feasible, given Kohli has already landed in Australia. There is still no clarity on Rohit’s availability for the first Test, but with him not travelling with the team, the India captain is all but confirmed to miss the series opener. Nonetheless, Lee is confident that starting off with a fresh mind and no baggage will bring the best out of Kohli and Rohit at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“When you have a couple of bad runs back-to-back, that’s when the pressure could set in. I guess the thing now is someone like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma just have to go back to the drawing board. Work on that technique, freshen up, get away from cricket as much as they can and then hit the ground running when they go to Australia, because I can promise you – these Australian fast bowlers will attack Rohit Sharma with that brand new ball. I have seen him play a lot and I reckon they’ll be ready for the Aussies,” the ex-Aussie quick pointed out.
