"Can Rohit arrive and kind of captain in a similar sense?" - Michael Vaughan calls for Virat Kohli-esque attitude from Indian skipper in 2024-25 BGT

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes India's success in their last two Test tours of Australia stemmed from skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri's aggressive approach. He questioned whether current captain Rohit Sharma could replicate Kohli's in-your-face attitude in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Team India will look to complete a historic three-peat in Australia in the five-Test series, starting in Perth on November 22. The Asian side upstaged the Aussies by 2-1 margins in 2018-19 and 2020-21, the former being India's first-ever Test series win Down Under.

Speaking to Fox Cricket in the build-up to the upcoming series, Vaughan said:

"I don’t think there can be another one, but who’s going to be the Virat Kohli? Can Rohit arrive and kind of captain in a similar sense? I think that’s going to be the big challenge for India over the course of the next few weeks."

He added:

"I’m a big believer (that) when you play Australia, there’s only one way to play them (and) that’s being on the front foot, being aggressive and trying to ruffle a few feathers. Ravi could do it. Virat could do it. I want to know in this Indian camp, who’s the Ravi Shastri?"

With the 2018-19 triumph, Kohli and Shastri became India's first-ever captain-coach duo to taste Test series success in Australia.

While Kohli captained India in the series opener in the 2020-21 tour, he returned home for personal reasons and missed the rest of the series. However, his deputy Ajinkya Rahane led the side manfully as the visitors overcame a 0-1 deficit to pull off a 2-1 series win.

"When he lands in Australia, he lands and knows that this is a place that he’s had a huge amount of success" - Michael Vaughan on Virat Kohli

Australia v India - 4th Test: Day 5 - Source: Getty

Michael Vaughan feels Virat Kohli's past success in Australian conditions will hold him in good stead for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The champion batter has been in woeful form in Tests lately. He averaged under 16 in India's latest setback — a 3-0 defeat to New Zealand at home. Kohli has scored only two centuries in 34 red-ball outings since 2020.

Vaughan, however, believes the battle between the No. 4 batters from both sides — Virat Kohli and Steve Smith — could determine the series outcome.

"I think Virat Kohli, when he comes here, when he lands in Australia, he lands and knows that this is a place that he’s had a huge amount of success. You could argue which of the number fours has the biggest series could be the deciding factor of the whole series," Vaughan said in the same interview.

Kohli has often been at his best in Australia, averaging an outstanding 54.08 in 13 Tests with six centuries.

Meanwhile, Smith has also struggled in the long format this year, averaging under 31 in five matches, a huge drop from his overall Test average of almost 57.