Follow UsVirat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's much-anticipated return to International cricket was short-lived. While Rohit was dismissed for 8 off 14, Kohli, on the other hand, was dismissed for an eight-ball duck in the first ODI against Australia in Perth on October 19 (Sunday). Both looked scratchy, given that they have not played competitive cricket since the end of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Moreover, they played for India for the first time since March.
However, former India head coach and World Cup winner Ravi Shastri says that he is in no hurry to judge at the back of just one failure.
"When you come back from a long layoff, you are obviously going to be rusty. It's not easy for any overseas team to land in Australia, say, two days prior to a game in Perth and adjust to those conditions straight away, especially when you have that extra bounce and against quality fast bowlers," Shastri said, as per NDTV.
"But I think only time will tell. They'll go to Adelaide, they have some time off to get into the nets, get their minds sorted and get back into action. So I'm in no hurry to judge, but it's when you come back at that age, after some time, it's about how much you're enjoying the sport and how much hunger is there and passion is left in you to play the game."
"So if you tick the boxes in two out of those three, especially the enjoyment part of it, then you can give them both time because they've got class, they've got experience and a little bit of time will sort things out. But I'd rather wait than jump and judge immediately," he concluded.
World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting feels that Kohli and Rohit need to have some short-term goals and not just try to hang around till the 2027 World Cup.
"The one thing I don't like hearing from anyone is that 'I've achieved everything in the game' because I think you still have to have some really short-term goals and not just be hanging on to try and get through to the 2027 World Cup," Ponting said.
"Virat's always been a highly motivated person. And I'd like to think that he's probably sat down and even just given himself some goals and things that he can achieve in this series here in Australia and not be just waiting and killing time for that next World Cup to come around," he added.
"What we know with both of those guys, at their absolute best, yes, of course, they're in India's best team. But can they find their best between now and when that World Cup rocks around? And that's only an answer that, like Ravi said, that we'll find out in a short period of time. They will get some really good batting wickets coming up over the next few weeks here in Australia.
"There's not many places that are better to go and bat in a one-day game than Adelaide Oval, which is coming up in a couple of days."
Australia have taken a 1-0 lead with a seven-wicket win in Perth and could seal the series in Adelaide, where the two teams will clash in the second ODI on October 23 (Thursday).