"No matter who the player is, if you are thinking about the team, go speak to them" - Badani urges coaching staff to help Rohit and ViratÂ
Former Team India batter Hemang Badani feels the coaching staff should not take Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's years of excellence for granted and remain idle while the pair stagger through a rough patch. The iconic batting duo has had a rough time in red-ball cricket since the commencement of the home season in September.
Kohli had some breathing space following his ton in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Perth, but the mounting pressure is back after twin failures in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval. Similar fortunes have befallen Rohit, who recorded just one fifty in the entire home season and began the tour of Australia on a forgettable note.
A lot has been said about their flaws in technique and how the opposition bowlers have been exploiting it. Their methods of dismissal are now alarming as well, which could lead to an intervention by the coaching staff.
Hemang Badani said that coaches often leave Rohit and Virat to work on their game themselves since they are such accomplished players, but he feels that now is not the time for such an approach.
"Sometimes what happens is, at the highest level - I'll take names, a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli - sometimes as a coach you think 'Oh he's Virat Kohli, he's Rohit Sharma, they know what to do' and you'll let it be. Are you going to let it be or as the coaching staff or the batting coach are you going to go and tell them 'Sir, you've played cricket for many years. But there is a slight problem (with your game). What solution can we bring for this problem? Do you have that solution or what are you thinking? Or do you want me to help you?" Hemang Badani said on Star Sports Tamil.
The newly-appointed Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach further explained how such tough conversations need to be held during a time of such crisis.
"Are you going to have those tough conversations or not? Sometimes you think they are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, they know what to do, let them be. But if you ask me, no matter who the player is, if you are thinking about the team, go speak to them. It's not wrong. After that whether they (the players) take it or not is their point of view. But as a coach you definitely have to go speak to them," Badani added
The onus is now on the coaching trio of Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Nayar, and Ryan ten Doeschate to find a solution and help the batting pair find their groove and make an impact in the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to make an impact in the second Test
Expectations were high from Kohli after his century in Perth, and the fact that Adelaide was one of his happy hunting grounds.
However, he was dismissed by Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland with the pink ball in the first and the second innings respectively while attempting to play a delivery outside the off stump.
Rohit Sharma, batting in the middle order for the first time since 2018, also endured a forgettable return. He had failed to impress in the warm-up contest against the Prime Minister's XI during the build-up to the second Test. He was trapped lbw by Boland in the first innings, and castled by Pat Cummins the second time around.