Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels it’s imperative for India to have in-form Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli if they want to successfully defend the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
India will take on Australia in a five-Test series beginning November 22 in Perth. India have maintained a strong hold on the BGT for a decade, which includes twin Test series wins Down Under on their last two tours.
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While Vaughan hoped the two batting icons would find their groove, he feared that they might not have the right mental makeup currently to face the challenge presented by a top-class Australian bowling lineup, comprising Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Rohit and Kohli failed miserably in five Tests at home (two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand), scoring just a fifty each in 10 innings. The embarrassing 0-3 loss to New Zealand further shook the confidence of the team and Rohit as captain.
“The one thing that India are going to require to win in Australia is Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli getting big runs and getting back to their best. I hope they do, I fear they won’t,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.
“I fear that they might just be over the edge and when you face an Australian attack that is up there with the greatest that has ever played the game in their own backyard, you’ve got to arrive here with solid technique and you’ve got to arrive with an amazing mentality,” he added.
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Kohli’s mounting problems against spinners were highlighted by the Kiwi left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, especially when he missed a full toss to be dismissed.
“I mean last series (in Australia) they won, they had no Virat Kohli to chase down that target at the Gabba. Australia hadn’t lost a Test match at the Gabba in 32 years, but I will say there’s a real concern around Kohli. That full toss that he missed to Mitchell Santner, that’s not Virat Kohli. You’re looking at a player that’s just fighting at the minute,” he concluded.
