Adelaide, Oct 22 (IANS) India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak backed the veteran duo Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s underwhelming show with that bat in the ODI series opener against Australia, saying they had proper preparations for the series, but it was the weather that played the spoilsport.

Rohit and Kohli, who returned to playing international cricket on Sunday for the first time since the conclusion of the Champions Trophy 2025, registered the score of 8 off 14, and Kohli marked his first ever duck on Australian soil as India lost to by seven wickets (DLS) in what was a rain-marred affair, with the match being cut short to 26 overs a side.

Ahead of the second game of the three-match series, Kotak addressed questions about the two senior players’ preparations and said the weather conditions at the venue, which caused the players to be sent off the ground multiple times, were a key factor behind the batters struggling to find momentum.

“Both of them are very experienced. I think it was the weather. It would have been the same if Australia had come out to bat first. It is not easy when there are four or five interruptions and every two overs you are going in and coming back out,’ he told reporters on Wednesday.

“Before coming to Australia, they had proper preparation. I think it is too early to judge them. They just retired from Test cricket and still playing IPL. We are very much aware of what preparations they are doing, what their fitness status is. They also go to the National Cricket Academy. What they are doing there, their video, obviously, I would have (watched them).

“You have to find the right time to intervene. I am a big believer in that. With such senior players, you don’t want to intervene if it’s not required. If they are doing things right and you’re still trying to get involved, it may not be the right approach.

“I think both of them have a lot of experience. Obviously, they are playing IPL and they are constantly playing. Before coming to Australia, they had time in their preparations, and they have done it,” Kotak added.

Both Kohli and Rohit rejoined the ODI team after retiring from Test cricket earlier this year. However, their comeback didn’t go as planned. Rohit was dismissed for 8 by a sharp delivery from Josh Hazlewood, while Mitchell Starc dismissed Kohli for an eight-ball duck.

After the two top-order batters were sent back to the dugout soon inside the powerplay, questions were raised about their preparations. The duo’s return to competitive cricket after a long gap was hindered by a lack of game time, a factor experts and pundits cited as a reason for their poor outings.

–IANS

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