Ganesh Kendale
NEW DELHI: Former cricket player Sanjay Manjrekar offered his opinions on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli claiming that they have passed their prime in the longest format of the game ahead of the highly anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India.
On November 22, Australia and India will play their first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 series in Perth.
India has taken back the lead in the series against Australia over time.India has won the last four series it has played against Australia, including two victories there in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 campaigns.
Due to this, India has been far more successful than Australia in the series, with India winning the BGT ten times to Australia’s five. Australia’s last series victory occurred in the 2014-15 campaign. They haven’t won a series in India since 2004-05.
“It might be a tough one. Virat and Rohit, both are not in their prime, they are not at the peak of their powers to be fair and others like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill have to rise to the occasion. Rishabh Pant is the only one that I feel is in his prime and a very important player,” Manjrekar said while speaking on SportifyWithPRG.
In the just concluded two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Kohli managed to score just 99 runs at an average of 24.75 in four innings, while Rohit managed to score just 42 runs at an average of 10.05.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also spoke about India’s bowling, saying, “India is sorted … As for the Australians, the aura and ability they had in the past, where every game they played, they were like champions, is not there anymore.”
The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will be in the day-night format. The Gabba in Brisbane will host the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.
The customary Boxing Day Test is set for December 26 to 30 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The fifth and final Test will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7.
