New Zealand Exposed Them: Ravi Shastris Bold Take On Future Of Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma – WATCH

Kohli, who was once the linchpin of India’s batting, suffered a torrid time Down Under ending with just 190 runs at an average under 24, despite scoring an unbeaten century in the first Test in Perth. On the other hand, the 37-year-old Rohit made just 31 runs in three Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Speaking in the latest episode of The ICC Review, the former India coach said that Virat still can contribute to the team. He gave the examples of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara to strengthen the argument.

“This now takes my mind back to [Sachin] Tendulkar, [and] to Brian Lara. When you evaluate their careers and see where Virat is, I think Virat still has it in him for the next couple of years to do precisely what Ricky said,” Shastri said. 

“To get the youngsters coming through the ranks there. Help them out. Share knowledge. Be part of the dressing room. Contribute to the team. And if your form is still good and you’re enjoying it, stay there. Otherwise, it will be time to move on and your mind will tell you to do that,” he added. 

Shastri looked at Tendulkar as a player, who helped inexperienced players in the final years of his career.

“The same thing happened with Sachin. I think he had to play a similar role to Ricky. If you look at his last couple of years also, he himself would say he was not at his best. But he was playing well enough and wanted to contribute,” he said.

For Shastri, West Indies great Lara, who finished the game with 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88, was the player who stuck to his natural style till the very end.

“The only guy I thought who just played the game where he saw the ball and smacked it was Brian [Lara],” he said.

I don’t think he ever thought of not getting out or surviving. He thought of smashing it. And that’s why probably scored that quickly and enjoyed himself. And when he had a run where he didn’t score, he just left the game,” he added. 

The former India coach agreed that Kohli could still give back to Indian cricket as a player and also a senior presence in the dressing room, by guiding the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Nitish Reddy.

“So I think the contributing factor to this team is transition and the youngsters coming through the ranks. If you look at Jaiswal, he’s 23. You look at Shubham Gill is 22, 23 [25 years]. Nitish Reddy is 21. There are a lot of players. Rishabh Pant, he is still very young. He is 25 or 26. [27 years],” said Shastri. 

“So there are a lot of guys there who can benefit from the experience of a player of Virat Kohli’s caliber,” he added.  

The 62-year-old also stated for both Kohli and Sharma that the duo should take any opportunity to jump into red-ball domestic cricket when possible.

“If there’s a gap for them, I think they should go back and play some domestic cricket and see how it is. Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it’s important to play domestic cricket for two reasons: You’re abreast with the current generation (and) you can contribute to that younger generation with your experience,” he said.

“And more importantly you get to play spin more than you will ever play. So if you see India as recorded, India on turning tracks is not the greatest. If you have quality spinners in the opposition, they can trouble you. And they have troubled India,” he added. 

Apart from this practical advice, Shastri left the ball in Rohit and Kohli’s court, stating that their future in the longest format of the game will depend on their hunger to keep playing Tests.

“They might have been lucky to get over a couple of series, but you saw how New Zealand exposed them before coming to Australia. So I would leave it on that,” Shastri stated.

“And plus, it’s the hunger and desire. When you’re in your 30s, one is 36, the other is 38. They would know how hungry they are,” he concluded.