New Delhi: On Sunday morning in Perth during the India-Australia series opener, Indian cricket would be welcoming a new era in the ODIs under the leadership of Shubman Gill but it will be the presence of barons Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli that will take the limelight.
Both the veteran players will return to the field after a gap of seven months, in which the Indian cricket dynamics changed a lot, although not completely. It would be relevant to say that their relevance in the Indian cricketing sphere still remains of pivotal importance but their return to the national colours has become a topic of discussion since a last few months.
Both the legendary players, who boast incredible numbers in the 50-over format, are looking forward to yet again prove their mark and ‘worth’ on the cricketing field especially with this being the only format they remain active in. With a plethora of critics coming up answers and predicting the fate of their future in cricket, it would be a tough test for the duo to sail through and reach the shore amid an emotional phase.
Rohit, Kohli ready to prove relevance in Perth
While the Indian cricketing ecosystem has become habitual of the absence of Rohit and Kohli, at least in the two formats, both the players are geared up to prove their prowess on the cricketing field once again. The duo last participated in the Champions Trophy in March earlier this year and it was an incredible outing as India beat New Zealand to lift the title under the leadership of the magnificent Rohit.
So, will the veteran players be able to deliver for the side in a critical series like this or would it turn into an disappointing outing? The greatest one-day batters across generations, bot Rohit and Kohli have been practicing hard from the last few days since touching down in Australia. Rohit seemed to have shed a few kilos and moulded himself into a chiselled figure, and Kohli was sweating it out in London with a private trainer.
Challenges for veteran pair
The Australia ODIs are not going to be a cakewalk for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as there would be challenges and some stiff ones. The most important of all would be to let go of the dust that they might have unintentionally carried on to themselves during their dry period in the past seven months.
After the Champions Trophy and then the IPL 2025, their last competitive outing, the duo did not play anything till date apart from some practice sessions. But the Australia series might be a blessing for them as both the batters have enjoyed a fairly good run on the soil which has had a lot of influence in their decorated careers.
This would be a parameter, if not the only one, to gauge their prowess keeping in mind the participation in the ODI World Cup two years later. With Gill at the helm, another challenge would be to come to terms with their fresh role of being just ‘players’ in the team, though the most senior ones. Rohit’s previous T20I and ODI outings ended with celebration after guiding the team to ICC trophies and they would be hoping for something of similar sort this time.
Starc and Hazlewood a threat to Rohit-Kohli?
With the first ODI match, it would be exciting to watch the traditional rivalry again as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood would try their level best to keep the legendary pair silent. These two bowlers would not only prove as a threat to the veterans but also the other batters in the line up would be wary of them.
The Mitchell Marsh-led Australia, though being without their premier pacer Pat Cummins and few other players out of injury, would be equally dangerous in their den against any of the sides. Not only in the bowling department, the batting in the Australian line-up is equally destructive when it comes to scoring runs.
Team combination
It’s highly unlikely that the management will break the highly successful opening combination of Rohit and Gill, keeping youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal as a backup option. It means Kohli will come at number three followed by seasoned Shreyas Iyer and experienced KL Rahul, who will double up as the wicketkeeper.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to receive his maiden ODI cap in the all-rounder’s role since injured Hardik Pandya is not part of the side, and Harshit Rana will vie with Prasidh Krishna for the support seamer’s role behind Mohammad Siraj and Arshdeep Singh. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav could be handling the spin department.