The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's first net sessions in Perth after returning to the ODI camp for the forthcoming three-match ODI series against Australia on Friday (October 17).
The upcoming three-match ODI series will mark the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in India's colors. They last played for Men in Blue in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. However, the upcoming series will see India being captained by Shubman Gill, who has replaced Rohit at the helm.
The video shows the duo walking onto the field in Perth, hitting the nets and timing a few balls, doing fielding drills, and concluding the session with fan interactions and signatures. It quickly became popular on social media.
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As per ESPNCricinfo, Kohli batted for almost 40 minutes. He faced a combination of Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and local bowlers on a surface with considerable bounce, as is usual in Perth.
Rohit, meanwhile, was in the adjacent net and began scratching, according to the allegation. His timing and movement were rusty at first, but he improved as the session went on, connecting cleanly and finishing confidently with many solid strokes.
Rustiness in both legends was expected, given that they hadn’t played any competitive cricket since IPL 2025. Kohli is supposed to have been preparing in London for the past several weeks, and Rohit has been seen practicing at Shivaji Park in Mumbai with former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar; nevertheless, Perth is a different beast.
