Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s recent batting slump have affected India’s prospects in their push for retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. While the Indian skipper has amassed a mere 152 runs from his last 13 Test innings, Kohli’s hundred in Perth is only his second fifty-plus score in his last 15 Test innings.

India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, however, thinks that the duo’s return to their best is a matter of regaining confidence and composure in the initial phase of their innings.

Advertisement

“I always believe it’s about having that confidence and getting off to a good start. If they get that, their game looks different. I believe both Rohit and Virat are the kind of players that if they face 25-30 deliveries, you’ll see them back in their usual form,” he said after the first day’s play in Melbourne.

Nayar doubled down on Rohit’s comments ahead of the fourth Test, where he backed Virat Kohli to find his way back in form. “Modern day greats will figure their path,” Rohit had said when inquired about Kohli’s string of dismissals nicking the ball outside off stump.

“As Rohit said, generally when you’re having a discussion with an experienced player, it’s around their focus and game plan. Every player has their weakness. They will get dismissed one way or another. The thought is behind making sure what kind of zone they need to make those runs,” Nayar added.

Nayar also explained the reasoning behind the change in India’s lineup for the Boxing Day Test that saw the exclusion of Shubman Gill with Rohit confirming his own return to the top of the batting order. With Rohit opening the innings and KL Rahul coming at No. 3, Gill had to make way for a third specialist all-rounder in Washington.

“Yes, Rohit will come up in the order and more likely than not, he will open the innings. That was the thought process. Unfortunately for Gill, just how things panned out, he had to miss out,” Nayar said.

“We felt in these conditions, looking at the pitch, having Washi (Washington Sundar) in the bowling attack will give us variations, especially towards the end once the ball gets old. That was an area we wanted to get better at.”

Post the 50 overs, we felt that was an area that we wanted to get better at. We felt Washy could give us that solidarity with Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), especially the way Travis Head and Alex Carey were getting runs lower down. So we felt having an offi in the ranks will provide us with that,” he explained.

After opting to bat, Australia pounded early runs at the MCG, courtesyof half-centuries from both the openers. Making his debut, Sam Konstas fired an impressive 60, that featured him taking the attack to India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

While Nayar showered praise on the youngster for his debut outing, he commended the Indian bowlers for making a comeback in the latter half of the day, having managed six wickets by stumps.

“A lot of credit to the way Sam played. The intent he showed in the first few overs sort of put us on the backfoot. But I felt it took a lot of character from our bowlers to stick in there,” Nayar said.

“It wasn’t the easiest conditions to bowl, we felt. They were good to bat on. At times like that, it’s important to stick to your guns. I felt we came back really strong post-Lunch. Bowling those maidens, putting the pressure.

“At times like that, you are taken by surprise when someone plays a knock like that. But I felt we responded really well and through the day kept at it, and reaped the rewards towards the end. Overall, you look at the day, we were happy with where we ended,” he said.