"They might have been lucky to get over a couple of series" - Former India all-rounder's big admission on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Former India all-rounder and ex-head coach Ravi Shastri reckons that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could consider themselves lucky for getting a long rope in Test cricket despite repeated failures. On the star duo's future in the red-ball format, he opined that it all depends on how hungry the veteran cricketers are.

Both Kohli and Rohit have been short of runs in Test cricket lately. The former ended 2024 with a Test average of 24.52 from 19 innings, while the Indian captain scored 619 runs in 26 innings at an average of 24.76.

Speaking on the ICC Review show, Shastri opined that New Zealand exposed the two batters' weaknesses in the home series before the Australia tour. He said:

“They might have been lucky to get over a couple of series, but you saw how New Zealand exposed them before coming to Australia. So I would leave it on that."

"And plus, it's the hunger and desire. When you're in your 30s, one is 36, the other is 38. They would know how hungry they are," he added, while discussing their future in Test cricket.

Many former cricket experts reckon that Rohit and Kohli must return to domestic cricket to rediscover their batting rhythm if they want to feature in the Test series in England, which begins in June. Shastri backed the idea and pointed out a few reasons why it's important. He commented:

“If there's a gap for them, I think they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is. Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it's important to play domestic cricket for two reasons: You're abreast with the current generation (and) you can contribute to that younger generation with your experience."

“And more importantly you get to play spin more than you will ever play. So if you see India as recorded, India on turning tracks is not the greatest. If you have quality spinners in the opposition, they can trouble you. And they have troubled India,” the 62-year-old added.

Kohli scored 190 runs in nine innings against Australia at an average of 23.75. As for Rohit, he played five innings and managed just 31 runs at an average of 6.20.

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"There's some mental block there" - Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli's struggles outside off stump

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting reckons that Kohli has a mental block, forcing him to play deliveries outside off stump. He opined that the batter is perhaps trying too hard not to do it, but is unable to control his mind. Speaking on the ICC Review show, the Aussie legend commented:

“The challenge is, and I can see it with Virat now, you can see how much he wants it. He's trying so hard that that actually makes batting harder. The harder you try sometimes with batting, the less success you're to have."

"He's trying not to do it, but there's some mental block there that's making him feel for that one outside the off-stump,” the 50-year-old concluded.

While Kohli was unbeaten once in BGT 2024-25, all his other eight dismissals in the Test series were to deliveries bowled outside the off stump.