India captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have had a torrid time in the five Tests at home, which concluded with an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand, leaving the team low on confidence ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) beginning later this month.
Talking about what frame of mind the two batting greats will be in heading into the five-Test series for the BGT, former Australia captain Gregg Chappell believes all ageing players, including Kohli, Rohit and Steve Smith, will face “as much a battle of wits and endurance as it will be of skill, with each player needing to summon the drive and adaptability of their younger selves.”
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Rohit scored 91 runs and Kohli 93 in the six innings of the three Tests against the Kiwis. Before that, India swept the Test series against Bangladesh 2-0; but Rohit and Kohli could only aggregate 42 and 99 runs, respectively, in four innings.
“They know that opposition teams have scrutinised their techniques, studied their weaknesses and developed strategies specifically to exploit even minor chinks,” Chappell wrote in his column for The Sydney Morning Herald.
“As a young player, you don’t worry about the conditions or the situation of the game, you only see the ball and how to make runs…If you want to play like you did as a younger player, you have to rekindle the attitude and the thought processes that you had as a younger player. That is the greatest challenge for the ageing player,” Chappell said, citing an incident where Sachin Tendulkar asked him ‘why does batting become harder as you get older?’.
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“I explained to him (Tendulkar) that the mental demands of batting intensify with age…Batting gets harder because you realise how hard it is to make runs at this level and how difficult it is to maintain the mental focus that is required to be successful,” the Australian wrote.
Talking specifically about Kohli, Chappell opined: “For Kohli, the task is one of rejuvenation. Known for his unmatched intensity, passion and high standards, Kohli’s recent travails will have annoyed him…The aggressive mindset that propelled him to greatness must now co-exist with patience and focus. He enters this series hungry to reiterate his authority as India’s most formidable batsman of his generation.”
Chappell suggested that Rohit, who is likely to miss the first Test because of personal reasons, needs to mix caution with aggression in the red-ball format.
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“As captain, he must maintain his own form while shouldering the pressure of leadership – a delicate balance he’ll need to master if India is to thrive. This Test series, then, is more than just another chapter in cricket; it is a testament to the challenges that time presents to even the most skilled players.
“Each player is more than a celebrated cricketer; they are icons of the determination and skill that defines our game. This series will be a defining chapter in their legacies.”
The BGT begins with the first Test in Perth from November 22.