Former cricketer Aakash Chopra is hoping that the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy is not the last Test series for India batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Notably, Kohli and Rohit haven’t had a great year in the longest format. While the 36-year-old Kohli slammed a century in the first Test at Perth, he averages only 26.64 from 9 matches in 2024. On the other hand, the 37-year-old Rohit averages 27.13 from 13 Tests in 2024 with two centuries to his name.
Chopra reckons Kohli and Rohit’s Test future will depend a lot on how they perform in the ongoing tour Down Under and whether the Indian team makes to it to the WTC 2023-25 final or not.
South Africa, Australia and India are currently in fray to secure the two spots for the WTC final, slated to be held at Lord’s in June 2025.
"Let's not say anything as of now. There are matches left. Let's allow them to finish this series. I hope they do well and the Indian team does well, and after that, they will play in the Champions Trophy if it's in the ODI format. They won't play if it's in the T20I format.
"Then it might depend on the WTC qualification how you want to play the next cycle. The next cycle will start in England, and there you might want to ask in which direction you want to go. Do you want to go with the same set of players? Do we want to press the reboot button? Those are the questions you ask only after the series is over. Hopefully, it's not the last series, but nobody knows," Chopra said in response to a query on his YouTube channel.
In the ongoing tour of Australia so far, Virat Kohli hasn’t looked in the best of rhythm. Apart from his second innings hundred at Perth, he has registered paltry scores of 5, 7 and 11.
As far as Rohit Sharma is concerned, the Indian captain missed the series opener due to birth of his second child. He returned to lead the side in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, but failed to make a mark with the bat.
Rohit decided to move down the order to retain the successful opening partnership with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the move to bat at No. 6 backfired as he managed to score only nine runs across the two innings.
