Cricket - ICC Men's Champions Trophy - Group A - India v Pakistan - Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - February 23, 2025 India's Rohit Sharma reacts with Virat Kohli REUTERS/Satish Kumar
(Reuters) -India's former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should not be written off after their team's seven-wicket loss to Australiain the first of three one-day internationals, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on Tuesday.
After Sunday's defeat in Perth, the three-match series moves to Adelaide on Thursday before concluding in Sydney on Saturday.
Kohli and Rohit, who retired from the game's other formats, now feature solely in the 50-over cricket. With the 2027 World Cup in mind, the pair returned to action on Sunday for the first time since lifting the Champions Trophy in March.
Neither looked convincing against Australia's pace bowlers, with Rohit edging Josh Hazlewood to second slip on eight and Kohli cutting Mitchell Starc to a diving Cooper Connolly at backward point for a duck.
However, Ponting is confident the pair will soon rediscover their touch.
"You don't write off champion players ever. These two have been among the best, and while I've said before that Virat's the best 50-over player I've ever seen, you don't write them off," Ponting said on the ICC Review podcast.
"They'll find a way to contribute and win games for their team, and if they do that, they'll most likely be in that World Cup team in 2027. I'd expect to see both those guys bounce back into it pretty quickly.
"Adelaide is a great place to bat and a great place to play cricket. But it won't be easy for the fact that they are facing some of the best white-ball bowlers that have ever played the game."
Ravi Shastri, who coached Rohit and Kohli during their peak years, said few understand better how revered the pair are in India and abroad, and that they would not risk their legacy by playing on too long.
"The contribution is over a decade, decade and a half in the case of Virat," Shastri said. "It's special. Whether they finish tomorrow or they finish the day after or whenever. That legacy will remain."
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
