Indian national cricket team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar talks about batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ongoing Poor performance in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Abhishek Nayar says Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma only need 25-30 overs to return to form in Test cricket.

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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli perform poorly in BGT 2024-25

Former India captain Kohli was dismissed for five runs in the first innings of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. However, in the second innings, he hit a brilliant century.

He struggled to get going after that and was dismissed while chasing a delivery outside off-stump. In the Adelaide Test, he returned with scores of 7 and 11, and in the Brisbane Test, he scored 3 runs.

Meanwhile, current India captain Rohit Sharma missed the Perth Test and then played poorly in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, scoring 3 and 6 respectively and 10 points. Overall, Rohit has had just one 50-plus innings in the last 13 games, while Kohli has played just two in the previous 15 innings.

The idea behind this is to identify what kind of area they need to conduct these runs – Abhishek Nayar

After the first day’s play, India head coach Abhishek Nayar said both Rohit and Kohli need to get off to a good start and take time in the middle to regain form.

“I always believe that the key is to have confidence and get off to a good start. If they understand that, their games will look different. I believe both Rohit and Virat are the kind of players that would be better off if they understood that. Against players who have passed the ball 25-30 times, you see them get back to their usual form,” he said.

Abhishek Nayar, while backing Rohit Sharma’s statement that Kohli’s “modern greats will show the way for them” said:

“As Rohit said, usually when you have discussions with experienced players, the discussion is about their focus and game plan. Every player has their own weaknesses. They will be dismissed in one way or another. We The idea is to determine what kind of area they need to run those runs.”

A lot of credit goes to the way Sam plays – Abhishek Nayar

Abhishek Nayar also heaped praise on teenage batsman Sam Konstas for his stunning performance in his first Test innings against India 65 balls 60 balls. He said:

“A lot of credit goes to the way Sam bowled. The intention he showed in the early overs put us at a disadvantage. But I felt it took a lot of character from our bowlers to hold on.”

However, Nayar was pleased with the Indian bowlers’ comeback after being stunned by the youngster’s brilliant batting in Melbourne. He elaborated:

“We felt it wasn’t the easiest conditions to bowl in. They were very good at batting. At times like this, it’s important to stick to your guns. I felt we came out really strong after lunch. Bowl those maidens, put the pressure on.

“At times like this you’d be surprised when someone gets a knock like that. But I felt like we responded really well and kept going all day and it paid off at the end. Overall, look Looking at the day, we’re happy with how it ended.”