"To lay the blame at the feet of two people is harsh" - South African legend defends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after India's BGT 2024-25 loss

Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes came to the defense of Indian stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy defeat in Australia. Team India won the opening Test of the five-match series before losing three out of the next games to suffer a 1-3 series loss.

The legendary duo of Kohli and Rohit endured forgettable tours with only a lone 50+ score between them in 14 combined innings. While the former finished with an average of 23.75 in five Tests, the Indian skipper averaged a dismal 6.20 in the three matches he played.

The loss was India's first in a bilateral series against Australia since 2014-15, breaking a four-series winning streak.

Talking about Kohli and Rohit's disappointing series, Rhodes said in an interview with IANS [Via TOI]:

"Touring Australia is really tough. And I think maybe the Indian fans have forgotten that because India have been so successful in the past in their last two tours to Australia. But it wasn't easy. You know, some great performances by the team almost resurrected the previous tours. And it didn't quite happen this time around so to lay the blame at the feet of two people is harsh."

He added:

"Everybody's entitled to their opinion. Cricket is that kind of game and I think the cricket players themselves in this day and age, there is no escape from the public, whether it's fans who love them or fans who are criticizing them with social media, journalism these days. Everybody seems to be a cricketing expert and players learn to live with that."

India also suffered a shocking 0-3 home series whitewash against New Zealand before the Australian series. The duo of Kohli and Rohit struggled against the BlackCaps even on home soil, averaging under 16 each with only two half-centuries between them in 12 innings.

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"Happy that India are going to be playing Pakistan in this Champions Trophy" - Jonty Rhodes

India and Pakistan will resume their rivalry in the 2025 Champions Trophy [Credit: Getty]

Jonty Rhodes refused to comment on the political aspects of the upcoming Champions Trophy and was delighted India and Pakistan will play each other in the tournament.

After much back-and-forth, the tournament will be played in a hybrid model, with India playing their games in Dubai. The rest of the competition will be played in Pakistan.

"Fortunately I'm not really involved in the politics of cricket. I'm a big fan of the game and I'm just happy that India are going to be playing Pakistan in this Champions Trophy. Because that sort of game, if it's not taking place, we all as fans lose out a great deal," said Rhodes.

India and Pakistan are part of Group A in the eight-team competition., with the highly-anticipated clash between them set to be played in Dubai on February 23.