Australia will be home away from home for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma: Manjrekar

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar backed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to find form in Australia, saying the conditions Down Under will favour them more than spin-friendly conditions back home. Manjrekar went on to say that the two stalwarts will feel a sigh of relief, playing on decent batting conditions and against the Kookaburra ball.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma struggled to get going in the recently-concluded three-Test series against New Zealand that India lost 0-3. The flop show from the star batters was one of the big reasons for India’s unprecedented series whitewash in home Tests.
Virat Kohli was undone by New Zealand spinners with the former captain managing just 93 runs across three Tests. On the other hand, Rohit fared worse, scoring 91 runs across six innings. Rohit paid the price for poor shot selection as he was not able to find the balance between aggression and caution, getting out to pacers early in the Indian innings, more often than not.
“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be thinking ‘it’s good. we are going to play in a home away from home’. They were struggling a lot on turning pitches. Facing pace and bounce is not a problem for Rohit Sharma. If you have seen Virat Kohli in South Africa the last time India toured there, he was looking like India’s best player. For him, there will be a sigh of relief. It’s a home away from home for them,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.
Virat Kohli averages over 50 runs per innings in Australia. The former captain, who missed three of the four Tests during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21, has 1352 runs, including six hundreds, in 13 matches. Kohli relishes playing in Australia and the arch-rivalry between the two teams has brought the best out of him in the recent past.
Kohli, as Manjrekar pointed out, looked in control on pace-rich pitches in South Africa earlier this year, scoring a fifty in one innings and getting starts in each of his other three innings.
On the other hand, Rohit will have his task cut out in Australia. The India captain, who is likely to miss the opening Test due to paternity leave, averages a little over 30 with three fifties across seven Tests. Rohit has very little experience (2 matches) of opening the batting in Australia.
“Rohit Sharma will not be there in the first. For him, it will be a bit of a break (from scrutiny). Because of his absence, the team will be a bit more lighter,” Manjrekar said.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will get underway on November 22 in Perth. India players, including Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, have begun training at the iconic WACA in Perth under the watchful eyes of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Rohit has not joined the initial batches of players Down Under, but was seen doing fitness drills in Mumbai on Wednesday, November 13.