Rohit Sharma, India captain, and Virat Kohli, ace batter, were targetted by the fans and former cricketers after India suffered a 1-3 Test series loss to Australia in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25).
With this series loss, India also lost the chance to play their third straight ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2025) final in England later this year.
Virat Kohli, after a century in the Perth Test, could only manage 90 more runs and ended with 190 runs in 5 Tests at an average of 23.75. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma made 31 runs in 5 Test innings in 3 matches and made only 31 runs. He missed the first Test due to paternity leave and opted out of the final Test in Sydney.
Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who was in Dubai to attend the opening of The Tennis Ball Cricket Premier League, defended both Rohit and Virat, stating that people forget what they (Rohit and Virat) have accomplished in the past.
"I look at what India has achieved in the last 5-6 years. They have achieved two back-to-back victories in Australia. I don't remember any team doing that. People criticize Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli a lot, but people forget what they have achieved in the past. They are two of the greatest cricketers of this time. It's ok they lost, they are more hurt than us. I am sure India will bounce back.
Gautam Gambhir as coach, Ajit Agarkar as selector, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, they are the best minds in cricket right now. And they have to decide what the future of Indian cricket is. I am sure this will be discussed with BCCI, with Jay Shah and taken into consideration that what is the best way for India to move forward," Yuvraj Singh told PTI.
On Rohit Sharma opting out of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney, Yuvraj said, "It's a big thing. I have not seen in the past that a captain is out of form and he opted out of the playing XI. It is the greatness of Rohit Sharma that he kept the team ahead of himself. He's a great captain, whether he wins or loses, he will always be a great captain. In his captaincy, we played the World Cup (ODI) final, we won the T20 World Cup, we achieved a lot.
More than the defeat in Australia, the loss to New Zealand should hurt us more because we lost 0-3 at home. That is not acceptable. It's fine we lost in Australia after winning twice. Australia has been a dominant side for so many years."
India was primed to play the WTC 2025 final, but the Test series loss to New Zealand at home led to them being eliminated from the race to the final.
On being asked what change he would like to see in the dressing room, Yuvraj said, "First of all I am not in that position, I was a student of the game and still am a student of the game. Gambhir, Rohit, and Virat have played more cricket than me. I can only give my opinion and my opinion is that when players are not performing, it is very easy to criticize them, but supporting them is very difficult. It is the media's job to criticize them and it is my job to support my friends and brothers. meor m,e they are my family. Simple.
