"Pundits come out and say that Rohit Sharma is finished and Virat Kohli is no good anymore, that's just ridiculous" - Michael Hussey
Former Australian batter Micheal Hussey rubbished the notion of writing off the legendary duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under. With the five-match Test series between India and Australia starting on November 22, much of the discussion has been around the poor form of the two stalwarts.
Kohli and Rohit averaged under 16 in the recent three-Test series at home against New Zealand. Their struggles played a massive role in India enduring a first home Test series whitewash since 2000.
Apart from the iffy form of their two star players, India will also be without Rohit himself (birth of his second child) and Shubman Gill (thumb injury) for the series opener.
Talking about the duo's lack of form and India's weakened lineup for the first Test, Hussey told TOI:
"We've seen it so many times to write off champion players... pundits come out and say that Rohit Sharma is finished and Virat Kohli is no good anymore, that's just ridiculous. They're legend, legendary players."
He added:
"They're proud players. If you write them off, you're just going to end up having egg on your face, because they will perform well again. They're too good not to. I think it's silly to write them off and write off the Indian team as well. It's just not in my vocabulary."
Team India battled injuries and the absence of several key players during their previous Test tour of Australia in 2020-21. However, they stunned the hosts by playing the series of their lives and winning by a 2-1 margin in the four-match affair.
"I'm expecting him to have a really good series" - Michael Hussey on Ravichandran Ashwin
Michael Hussey backed ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to enjoy an excellent tour of Australia, highlighting his importance in the Indian bowling attack.
The 38-year-old does not have the greatest record with the ball in Australia, averaging 42.15 in 10 Tests. However, after a poor start in Australia, Ashwin has produced better results in the previous two tours.
The champion spinner has picked up 18 wickets in the four Tests across the 2018-19 and 2020-21 series.
"I think Ashwin, he might have struggled the first couple of times that he came to Australia, like a lot of players do. A smart bowler and a smart man over time, and over more tours, will figure out how to bowl well in Australian conditions. And so I'm expecting if he plays the majority of the Tests, I'm expecting him to have a really good series," said Hussey.
He continued:
"He can play a really important role for India because if he can bowl really well and strongly at one end, then that enables the captain to attack from the other end, to rotate the fast bowls around from the other end."
Ashwin is seventh all-time in Test wickets with 536 in 105 outings at an excellent average of 23.95.