"It might be a tough one. Virat and Rohit, both are not in their prime" - Sanjay Manjrekar on India's chances in upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels the legendary duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma not being in their prime could make it difficult for India to win the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The two teams will battle over five Tests, starting in Perth on November 22.
While Rohit has produced a few match-winning knocks, his numbers in Tests aren't great this year with an average of 35.50 in 8 outings. Meanwhile, Kohli has struggled even more this year, averaging 31.40 in 3 Tests with no half-centuries.
Speaking on the SportifyWithPRG YouTube channel about the upcoming Australia series, Manjrekar said as quoted by India Today:
"It might be a tough one. Virat and Rohit, both are not in their prime, they are not at the peak of their powers to be fair and others like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill have to rise to the occasion. Rishabh Pant is the only one that I feel is in his prime and a very important player."
Sanjay Manjrekar, however, acknowledged that the current Aussie side doesn't carry the aura of those from the previous generations.
"As for the Australians, the aura and ability they had in the past, where every game they played, they were like champions, is not there anymore," he stated.
India have beaten Australia in their last four bilateral Test series, including two down under in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
"The Indian batting will, I think, decide the fate of the series" - Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar feels a highly contested series is on the cards with the deciding factor being the Indian batting.
With veterans like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who helped India win in their last two Australian tours, out of favor, India will lean on the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to carry the batting load.
"This series might just be a little more competitive than the last two tours, where Indian cricket reached a new high when they beat Australia. The Indian batting will, I think, decide the fate of the series," said Manjrekar.
India and Australia are the top two in the latest 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) standings and appear to be on course for a final meeting.
The two teams met in the final of the previous cycle in 2023, with Australia coming out on top by 209 runs.