"What are they doing since the last 40-45 innings?" - Former India keeper lashes out at Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma over failures in BGT 2024-25

Former India keeper-batter Surinder Khanna has slammed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma over their poor form in the ongoing Test series against Australia. Questioning their place in the playing XI, Khanna urged the selectors to drop the veteran cricketers if they aren't willing to announce their retirements.

India suffered a 184-run loss in the fourth Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday, December 30. Set a target of 340, they folded up for 155 in 79.1 overs. Rohit and Kohli perished cheaply again, registering scores of nine and five, respectively.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Khanna slammed the current Indian Test captain and his predecessor, directly question their value to the team in their current form. He said:

"What are Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli doing? Remove attention from Rishabh Pant. He used to play like this only from day one. He will continue to make such mistakes. Tell me about Kohli and Rohit, what are they doing since the last 40-45 innings? The kind of form they are in then even if you will bowl, they will get out.

"Our batters Kohli and Rohit are out of form and selectors need to take a call. If they are not announcing...then selectors need to announce something. Going into the next test, play youngsters, we will win, like under Bumrah we won the first Test. We outclassed Australia. Since Rohit came back we have been struggling. I may sound harsh, but you have to take harsh decisions if you want to win," the former India cricketer added.

Having missed the first Test in Perth, Rohit has managed only 31 runs in five innings at an abysmal average of 6.20. Meanwhile, Kohli has 167 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.83. Barring a hundred in Perth, he has struggled to make any kind of impact with the willow.

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Kohli and Rohit in Tests in 2024: A year to forget

Indian captain Rohit began the year on the positive note, with two centuries in the home series against England. However, he has completely gone off the boil after that and has only one fifty from his last 15 Tests innings. Overall, he has scored 619 runs in 26 innings at an average of 24.76.

As for Kohli, he played 19 Test innings in 2024, scoring 417 runs at an average of 24.52. Apart from his century in Perth, his only other fifty-plus score came when he hit 70 against New Zealand in Bengaluru in October.