Don't write off champions: Hussey backs Kohli, Rohit

Ahead of the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former cricketer Michael Hussey backed star India batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and said that one cannot write off champion players like them.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will kick off from November 22 in Perth. Adelaide and Brisbane will host the second and third Test matches of the series, respectively. The iconic Boxing Day Test will be played in Melbourne. The final and fifth Test of the series will take place in Sydney from January 3.

Speaking on Fox Sports, Hussey said Aussies will find out where India stand in terms of "mentally and from a skill perspective" only after the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He added that India have got many players who are crowd-pullers.

"We will find out in the first Test match where they are at, mentally and from a skill perspective as well. They will be hurt by this, India. They have got a lot of crowd pullers and quality. We just heard from Gambhir talking about Rohit and Kohli not making runs. The silliest thing you can do is to write off champion players," Hussey said.

He added Rohit and Virat come under criticism but they always perform.

"We have seen it so many times in the past - they come under criticism, but they come out and perform really well. So I'm backing them to perform well in Australia. They are proud Indians and proud Test players. But I still feel Australia will start favourites," he added.

Earlier on Monday, while addressing the media before departing for Australia for the BGT series, India head coach Gautam Gambhir responded to questions regarding the form of Kohli and Rohit. Terming Ponting's opinions on Indian cricket 'irrelevant', the former batter affirmed that both the big guns have a lot of passion and hunger for the team.

"Not at all...Ricky Ponting should think about Australian cricket, what concerns he has for Indian cricket? Virat and Rohit are incredibly tough men. They've achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot," Gambhir said on Monday.

"They still work really hard. They're still passionate. They still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me and for the entire group of people as well in that dressing room. I feel there's a lot of hunger, especially after what has happened in the last series," he added.

So far in 2024, both Kohli and Rohit have struggled to find their best form, attracting scrutiny following India's recent 0-3 series loss against New Zealand. Rohit has accumulated 588 runs from 11 matches this year, averaging 29.40 with two centuries and two fifties. Meanwhile, Kohli has managed just 250 runs from six matches (12 innings), averaging 22.72 with just one half-century.

Their form is a significant concern as India prepares to face Australia, needing to win the series 4-1 to secure their spot in the World Test Championship Final (WTC). The performance of Kohli and Rohit will be crucial for India's chances to progress to their third consecutive WTC final.