New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Former England cricketer Monty Panesar believes that India’s ongoing three-match ODI series against Australia is crucial for veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and said that the duo’s white-ball career depends on the remaining two games.

The duo, who returned to international cricket on Sunday for the first time since March 2025, was expected to fire with the bat but couldn’t rise to the occasion. In the first ODI against Australia, Rohit was the first to be dismissed, scoring a 14-ball eight, before Kohli departed, scoring an eight-ball duck.

Panesar, speaking to IANS, stated that the ODI future of the two top-order batters depends on how they perform in the remaining two games on Thursday and Saturday.

“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma didn’t perform so well, and this is a big series for both of them. They need to perform; they need to do really well. But if they are not able to sustain those performances, you know. Adelaide is going to be a big one for them; they have got to perform well in both these games because you’ve got young players coming through. And they’ve done their bit. They’ve won the World Cups, and it’s a big series for both of these players for their future in white ball cricket for India,” Panesar said.

India slumped to defeat in the first game at the Optus Stadium in Perth as the hosts won by seven wickets via the DLS method. It was a frustrating outing for players of both teams as rain kept intervening at regular intervals.

The extensive rain breaks led to the match being cut short to 26 overs per innings. India’s batters, after being put to bat first, failed to gain momentum in the game after a top-order collapse early in the Power-play.

Australia chased down the 131-run target with ease after restricting India to a paltry total to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The two sides will face off in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

— IANS

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