Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan attributed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s failures to less playing time and said the Border-Gavaskar Trophy demons had returned.
India could not get past the Australian attack as the Indian top-order batters collapsed early in front of the Australian pacers. Starc dismissed Kohli, Rohit fell to Josh Hazlewood and finally, Nathan Ellis took the lead off the bat of Shubman Gill.
In the first ODI in Perth, Rohit fell after scoring just eight runs, while Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck. This was Kohli’s first dismissal in ODIs in Australia without scoring a single run.
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“Fitness is one thing, and playing time is one thing” – Irfan Pathan
The much-anticipated return of Indian great Virat Kohli ended in a disappointing dismissal in front of the legendary Australian speedster. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan attributed these failures to reduced playing time.
Irfan Pathan further noted that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy demons have returned, chasing Virat Kohli, which forced him to retire from the longest format of the game.
“Fitness is one thing, and playing time is one thing. That’s why Rohit looked a little troubled. It looked like the BGT demons were back for Virat Kohli. I hope that’s not the case in Adelaide and Sydney,” Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
“KL Rahul batted well today. Shreyas Iyer found himself in a tricky position. Maybe he can work a little more on his technique. Axar does well whenever he gets a chance to take the lead,” Pathan praised the quality of Axar Patel and KL Rahul.
“Whenever you visit such countries, it is always better to go early and play a few games,” said Irfan Pathan.
On a surface that greatly aided the bowlers, not only did the Australian bowlers dominate and gain the upper hand, but even the Australian batters took on the threat of the Indian bowlers with ease. Former cricketer Pathan was of the opinion that Indian bowlers could not hit the right line and length, which could hamper the batters to a large extent.
“Whenever you visit such countries, it is always better to go early and play a few matches. It was going to be difficult for India. It was going to be a challenge because the conditions would not be easy. Our bowlers could not hit the right lengths.”
“The hitters also struggled with rebounding. If you had played a game or two, these errors wouldn’t have happened. It’s important to think about these things going forward,” he added.
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