Underperformance Sparks Outcry: Kohli and Rohit Face Retirement Demands from fans
Underperformance Sparks Outcry: Kohli and Rohit Face Retirement Demands from fans
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been urged to ‘step down immediately’ as fan frustration reaches its peak.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s continuing underperformance has seemed to irk their fans. Typically, those engaged in discussions about who is the superior batter between Kohli and Rohit are now calling for their retirement.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s disappointing performances as both batsmen and leaders in the three-match Test series against New Zealand ignited intense frustration among fans.
Rohit accumulated 91 runs over three matches, achieving an average of 15.16, with a top score of 52. In contrast, Kohli totaled 93 runs in the same number of matches, averaging 15.50. Excluding his impressive 70-run performance in the second innings in Pune, Kohli only gathered 23 runs across the remaining five innings of the series.
The underwhelming performance of these key players has undoubtedly affected the Indian batting lineup and the team’s overall results in the current series.
They were dismissed for just 46 runs in their first innings of the Bengaluru Test, marking their lowest score at home.
India suffered their first-ever home whitewash in a series of three or more Tests.
The poor performance has drawn remarks from experienced cricketers as well. Following India’s historic Test series defeat to New Zealand, Sunil Gavaskar noted that senior Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are currently struggling.
Gavaskar also suggested that these veteran players might have benefited from participating in Duleep Trophy matches before the home Test season.
“They should have had some practice. It’s a long gap. I know we beat Bangladesh and therefore it looked as if it was going to be a cakewalk against New Zealand. But New Zealand obviously had the better attack. And players who play in India, in the IPL, have a sense of what Indian pitches do. Almost half the New Zealand side played here during various stages of the IPL,” said Gavaskar.
