"He will take the game away from Australia" - Virat Kohli's coach on Indian captain Rohit Sharma

Former Delhi cricketer and Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels that Indian captain Rohit Sharma's return to the team for the final two ODis against Australia is a huge boost for the hosts.

The Men in Blue struggled to win the first ODI as the top-order failed miserably. But Rajkumar feels that Rohit's presence in the final two ODIs will give the top-order the stability that has been missing.

Speaking to India news, here's what Rajkumar Sharma had to say about Rohit Sharma's impact against Australia:

"Rohit’s return to the team will make a huge difference to the atmosphere. He is a match-winner with the bat and once he gets his eye in after 2-4 overs, he has all the shots in his book to increase the strike rate exponentially. Australia will know that if they fail to dismiss him early, he will take the game away from them. An in-form Rohit Sharma makes a massive difference between the two teams."

---

Rajkumar Sharma on Mohammed Siraj's rise for India

Mohammed Siraj's rise over the past year has been meteoric in ODIs. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj has quickly grown into a strike bowler with the new ball.

Rajkumar Sharma feels it is Siraj's passion and aggression that make him a difficult customer to bat against. On this, he stated:

"Siraj’s enthusiasm has made him the bowler that he is today. It is his energy that has helped him break into the top three bowlers for India in ODIs at the moment. He has formed a great combination with Shami and the duo ensure that there’s pressure from both ends when they bowl in tandem."

The hosts will hope to dish out a better batting performance in the second ODI at Vizag after failing to bat convincingly in the first ODI.