Former India coach Ravi Shastri said Virat Kohli will need to find his form quickly after struggling against Australia in the ongoing series. Kohli entered the series after a long break as he last played international cricket in February during the Champions Trophy. However, his return did not go according to plan.
Kohli has scored in both the matches so far as India lost the series after defeat in Adelaide ODI. During the commentary duty during the match on 23 October, Shastri said that no one can relax at this point as the competition for places in the team is increasing. Shastri also felt that Kohli was a bit cautious with his footwork while playing in Adelaide.
“He’s going to have to get some form pretty quick. The competition for places is like that in white-ball cricket in India, nobody’s going to relax, whether it’s Virat or Rohit or whoever in the team. It’s not going to be easy, there’s competition. He missed it again today, he was a bit careful with his footwork. It doesn’t happen often, his ODI record is two days, soc crick will be disappointed.” Shastri said while commentating on Fox Sports during the second ODI.
Shastri’s news comes after he openly backed Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of the second ODI.
KOHLI WILL NOT FOLLOW DUCKS
Fans began to speculate whether Kohli could be heading for retirement after he was seen waving goodbye to the crowd in Adelaide after being dismissed. However, Sunil Gavaskar dismissed the ideahe says that a star batter is not someone who calls it quits after two failures.
“Virat Kohli is not the type of player to give up after two ducks. He will look to retire, play in Sydney, follow the ODI series in South Africa and then the 2027 World Cup alongside Rohit. Even the Australians would be disappointed – they didn’t see a big score from Virat Kohli. I think he just accepted it as normal when you got a big crowd. accept it bat raised or helmet or cap removed. But that was just his way of thanking the crowd for the reception and ovation they gave him. Don’t read too much into it,” Gavaskar said.
India and Australia will play the third ODI on October 25.
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Published on:
October 24, 2025
