Dubai, Oct 21: Australian great Ricky Ponting reckons the performance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the ongoing ODI series Down Under will determine if the star India duo can carry on till the 2027 World Cup.
Playing their first game for India since March, Kohli and Rohit, who are now one-format players, did not last long against Australia’s potent pace attack on a bouncy Perth track. Having said that, it was also a collective batting failure for India who lost by seven wickets.
The second ODI of the three-match series takes place in Adelaide on Thursday, where conditions should suit the Indian batters a lot more compared to Perth.
Speaking on ‘ICC Review’ alongside former India head coach Ravi Shastri, Ponting said setting short-term goals is the way forward for the celebrated duo rather than only thinking about the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“The one thing I don’t like hearing from anyone is that ‘I’ve achieved everything in the game’ because I think you still have to have some really short-term goals and not just be hanging on to try and get through to the 2027 World Cup,” Ponting said.
“Virat’s always been a highly motivated person. And I’d like to think that he’s probably sat down and even just given himself some goals and things that he can achieve in this series here in Australia and not be just waiting and killing time for that next World Cup to come around.
“What we know with both of those guys, at their absolute best, yes, of course they’re in India’s best team. But can they find their best between now and when that World Cup rocks around?” he asked.
“And that’s only an answer that, like Ravi said, that we’ll find out in a short period of time (during the series),” said the World Cup-winning bating great.
I am in no hurry to judge: Shastri
=====================
The performance of Rohit and Kolhi in the first ODI was not up to the mark but Shastri feels more time should be given to the two white-ball greats who would expectedly take time to get into the groove after being away from competitive cricket post the IPL.
“When you come back from a long layoff, you are obviously going to be rusty. It’s not easy for any overseas team to land in Australia, say, two days prior to a game in Perth and adjust to those conditions straight away, especially when you have that extra bounce, and against quality fast bowlers.
“But I think only time will tell…I’m in no hurry to judge…it’s about how much you’re enjoying the sport and how much hunger is there and passion is left in you to play the game.
“So if you tick the boxes in two out of those three, especially the enjoyment part of it, then you can give them both time because they’ve got class, they’ve got experience…I’d rather wait than jump and judge immediately,” said the former India head coach. (PTI)
