"Don’t be surprised......." - Former World Cup winner makes big comment on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli before AUS vs IND 2nd ODI

India's ODI return wasn't impressive as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat in the rain-affected Perth ODI, which was the first game of the three-match ODI series against the hosts Australia. It was the much-awaited return of the two most popular Indian cricketers, the former Indian captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but their returns were far from memorable. Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has made a big comment on RoKo before their second ODI at Adelaide.

On Sunday (October 19), the ODI series opener was majorly affected due to the rain, as the first innings, where India batted, was stopped multiple times due to rain. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to international cricket after seven months, as they last appeared during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final, but both of them struggled in the Perth ODI. While Rohit and Kohli are the top two most ODI run-scorers in the battle between Australia and India in Australia, Rohit was dismissed for eight runs, and Kohli recorded his first ODI duck in Australia. 

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They were playing on probably the bounciest pitch in Australia: Sunil Gavaskar

While it was very sad for the Indian cricket fans are really sad with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's poor return in international cricket, Sunil Gavaskar is confident enough in both the legendary Indian cricketers. Gavaskar pointed out the crucial factor of India's poor performance in the ODI series opener.

Gavaskar told India Today, "They were playing on probably the bounciest pitch in Australia. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially for players who haven’t played international cricket for a couple of months. It was challenging for Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, who usually play international cricket quite regularly."

Don’t be surprised if Rohit and Kohli score big in the next two games: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar feels that there will be no surprise of big scores from Rohit and Kohli in the next fixtures of this ODI series. The legendary Indian cricketer believes that once they find their rhythm back, India can comfortably score 300+ totals in the ODIs.  

Gavaskar added, "India are still a very, very good team. They’ve won the Champions Trophy. Don’t be surprised if Rohit and Kohli score big in the next two games. They are coming back after a few months away from international cricket. The more they play, the more time they spend in the nets, the more throwdowns they get — maybe even from the reserve bowlers bowling at them from 20 yards instead of 22 — the quicker they’ll find their rhythm. Once they’re back among the runs, India’s total will be 300, 300-plus."

India and Australia will face each other in the second ODI at Adelaide on Thursday (October 23). Sydney will host the last game of the ODI series on Saturday (October 25).