Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have come under severe criticism for their flop show in the recently held Test series against New Zealand, which India lost 0-3 at home.
While Rohit managed to amass only 91 runs in six innings at an abysmal average of 15.17, Kohli returned with 93 runs at 15.50.
With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy around the corner, the form of these two stalwarts has become a major concern. India would hope they return to scoring ways when the five-Test series gets underway on November 22 in Perth.
Meanwhile, former Australia pacer Brett Lee has advised Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to take a bit of a break and freshen up just in time for the BGT.
"The word on the streets has been India 3-0. But while I predicted 3-0, it was not the other way. What has happened? There's been a lot of conjecture around the batting for India. The way they collapsed against spin, losing 37 wickets. Mitchell Santner was on fire. I think India were trying to dominate a little too much, playing shots that were out of their normal style of cricket," Lee said on his YouTube channel.
"If you look at the Hitman and King Kohli – they got 90 runs each in the series. It's so unlike them. They are way better players than that. It's hard to put your fingers on why they failed. If you look at the way how Rohit Sharma got out a lot to the quicks, I can't say there's a technical fault there because I have seen him play for the last decade and I still believe he is one of the best in world cricket. But maybe he's a little bit too aggressive. There were a couple of shots that he will think 'Was there a technique issue? Was he getting forward enough?' A little bit hesitant," he added.
While Brett Lee wants the duo to take time off, it doesn’t seem feasible right now. Kohli has already landed in Australia whereas Rohit’s availability for the first Test is still uncertain.
However, Lee is confident that starting off with a fresh mind and no baggage will bring the best out of Kohli and Rohit in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"When you have a couple of bad runs back-to-back, that's when the pressure could set in. I guess the thing now is someone like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma just have to go back to the drawing board. Work on that technique, freshen up, get away from cricket as much as they can and then hit the ground running when they go to Australia, because I can promise you – these Australian fast bowlers will attack Rohit Sharma with that brand new ball. I have seen him play a lot and I reckon they'll be ready for the Aussies," he remarked.
