The Indian host broadcasters of the upcoming edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia are advertising the series as ‘the toughest rivalry'. Like most things in life, cricket rivalry, among the top of the pops, is also subjective. But this one, especially over the last few editions, has become increasingly spicier.
India and Pakistan don't play bilateral cricket anymore. And let's face it, for a sport whose Test version is played by a total of 12 nations, a clash between the Number 1 (Australia) and Number 2 (India) teams, and that too on mostly fiery Aussie pitches, is a main course to drool over. Add to that the statistical hors d'oeuvres of India having won the last four versions of this rivalry (2016-2023), including back-to-back historic series wins the last two times they toured Kangaroo Land, and you have yourself a meal to die for.
A High-Stakes Game
This time, don't be surprised though if the five-match series breaks all viewership records. After all, this enticing meal also has the added spice of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two batting Titans of the sport, perhaps playing their last series Down Under. But that is not what will make the biggest headlines. Those will undoubtedly be reserved for their performances with the bat. After all, there is very little doubt that the number of runs these two players end up scoring and how big an impact they have on positive results for their team will determine how many miles there are still left in their Test journeys. Needless to say, the upcoming series is an extremely important one – for the team overall and for these two stalwarts of Indian cricket, along with a couple of other ‘super seniors' like R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The entire cricketing fraternity will be watching very, very closely.
And that begs the question—what will happen, realistically, if Virat and Rohit's bats are largely silent in Australia this time, just like they were against Bangladesh and then New Zealand, when India were whitewashed 0-3 at home for the first time in a Test series?
Virat and Rohit, who are synonymous with Indian cricket, have over the years been tagged by many as rivals, adversaries and competitors. Right now, however, they find themselves in the same boat, trying to weather the same storm, with time running out. The two also found themselves right next to each other on the run charts of the recent Test series vs the Kiwis, as Numbers 12 and 13, respectively. Virat scored 93 runs in six innings and Rohit scored 91.
Dawn Of The Young
No athlete wants to go out on a low—especially not Virat and Rohit, who we saw bowing out big when they announced their T20 international retirements right after India won the last edition of the T20 World Cup. They knew that the second, even third-rung players, were more or less fully baked—especially in the shortest format of the game—with a whole host of young talent ready to break down the senior team door. Similar thoughts must be running in their heads right now ahead of the Test series with the Aussies. Change is already imminent. Sarfaraz Khan has a century and three fifties in the six Tests he has played so far. Abhimanyu Easwaran, a First-Class legend for Bengal, is itching to make his Test debut. Dhruv Jurel, the son of a Kargil war veteran, recently averaged 74 in two innings for India A in the second unofficial Test against Australia A, with scores of 80 and 68. All three are in the India squad for the series against Australia.
Virat and Rohit's biggest priority right now will be to prove to the world—and perhaps to themselves, too—that they can still convert the hunger in their bellies to Test runs on the board. They have to do that against the top-ranked team in the world – both in the Test rankings and on the 2023-25 WTC cycle points table, and, that too, in their own den. The head curator of Western Australia cricket has promised that the drop-in pitch for the first Test in Perth will have great pace and bounce.
Why Australia Is A Litmus Test
Nothing short of a litmus test awaits the duo. Virat for one will take confidence from the fact that he has a very good record on Aussie shores—an average of over 54 in 13 Tests, with a highest score of 169 and overall, six centuries. This might just be the perfect setting for him to roar back to form. Rohit's batting average in Australia, 31.38, is not great, but it's not too bad either. He is yet to score a century Down Under.
It's no secret that at 36 and 37, respectively, Virat and Rohit are in the twilight of their careers. Both would have given serious thought to Test retirement and set rough timelines and goals. Remember, Test cricket is also the most physically demanding format. Also, there's no doubt that they would have both fantasised about helping India win the ICC WTC Final at Lord's in June next year, something the team hasn't managed to do yet despite being finalists in both the completed editions so far (2019-21 and 2021-23). Apart from beating the Aussies in their own backyard for the third straight time, there is also the added incentive now of qualifying for that final (though India need to win 4-0 to qualify on their own). The final outcome of that pursuit could also play a big role in determining Virat and Rohit's Test futures. If all the pieces fall into place, it could well be the perfect time for them to bring the curtain down on their Test careers, silence the critics, and then leave nothing to chance.
England Is Beckoning
However, here's the catch—the big difference this time as compared to the last T20 World Cup, when they chose to ride into the international T20 sunset on a high, is that if they manage to bounce back hard in Australia and play a series-defining knocks, it perhaps won't be that easy for them to take the call to end their Test careers. There's another high-profile Test series on foreign soil coming up in about seven months, with India scheduled to tour England for a five-Test series from June to August of 2025. That is too tempting a chance to miss, especially at this stage of their careers. They have to make sure that they are very much in the mix when the squad for that tour is picked.
The bottom line is perhaps that it's now or never for both star batters, because the one thing that both these senior players would like to avoid like the plague is the ignominy of being dropped by the selectors. And that is a real possibility if they don't get at least a few big scores each and if the team overall doesn't do well. BCCI sources have been quoted as saying that they will not be on the flight to the UK to play England if India fail to qualify for the WTC Final. At home, in the series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, Virat's average in 10 innings was under 23, while Rohit's was 13.30.TC Final.
Don't Write The Champions Off
Beyond these calculations though, let's not forget that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are titans of the sport. You can count them out, sure, but only at your own peril. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, while describing the two batters as ‘incredibly tough men', made it a point to convey the message that the two are still very ‘hungry'. It's the same hunger that saw a certain Sachin Tendulkar silence his critics after 2003, when his Test average dropped to 17, and then again around 2005-2007, when critics said that it was time for him to hang up his boots. Michael Hussey recently talked about how it is “silly” to write off champion players.
Sure, some might also argue that things are different now. Star value matters, but questions are asked. Gambhir himself has said that he wants his players to be ‘absolutely selfless'.
Ultimately though, everything is likely to boil down to a few very simple questions—were there any ultimatums given in the chat that the BCCI, the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, and the coach had with Rohit after the New Zealand series debacle? If the two star players do fail in Australia and are still kept in the mix, how prepared are the Indian Board and the coach to weather the storm of the inevitable public outcry? And, the most important of questions: what exactly are Rohit and Virat themselves feeling in their bones right now?
The one thing you can bet on is that neither player would want to be pushed out.
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author