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Former Indian cricketer and noted commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu has hit out at critics of struggling batting icons Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after their poor performances in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.
Virat Kohli, who has a fantastic Test record in Australia, started the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with an unbeaten century in the first Test but could not continue the momentum and ended with just 190 runs in the test of five matches. series.
Navjot Singh Sidhu defends Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma amid backlash after poor Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma missed the first Test after the birth of his second child and was rested for the final Test against Australia. The Indian skipper was more woeful with the bat, scoring just 31 runs in three Tests.
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They have faced a backlash for their poor tour as Australia defeated India 3-1 to reach the WTC 2025 Final and also lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years. Amid heavy criticism, Navjot Singh Sidhu defended Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma saying that even great players go through bad patches.
He emphasized that the long-standing contributions of Kohli and Rohit to Indian cricket cannot be overlooked because of a few months of poor form. Sidhu reminded everyone of past cricket legends like Mark Taylor, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Gangulywhich faced long periods of failure but eventually recovered.
He stressed that it only takes one good innings to return to form and backed the duo to come back strongly. Navjot Singh Sidhu was quoted by Sports Tak as saying, “You know, someone’s bad form has been coming for two months. You can’t erase it. The services he has been doing for so long, I know you can’t rest on your laurels.”
“You have to refresh them with new ones. But you have to give bonus. Mark Taylor kept failing for a year and a half. Persistent. Azharuddin kept failing. Ganguly failed in 8 innings. And he said, I can fail in 8 innings . . , but it only takes one ticket to come back.”
The cricket expert further highlighted that just six months ago, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli led India to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and reminded everyone that cricket is a team game and blame individual players have it easy. He urged everyone to have faith in the two icons of Indian baptism.
Sidhu noted, “It’s a team game. Blaming is the easiest thing. It’s easy to throw stones. But some people make their homes with the stones that the world throws at them.” The former Indian cricketer-turned-politician emphasized that Virat Kohli has faced challenges before, and it is wrong to involve his personal life in public criticism.
He urged people to respect heroes like Kohli and be patient. Sidhu reminded everyone that tough times are part of every player’s journey and just as stars shine brightest in the darkest nights, Kohli will rise again through his struggles.
Sidhu signed off by saying, “These are these people. This is not the first time that Virat Kohli is in crisis. This is not the first time that his wife is caught in the middle. Right? This is wrong. We must learn to respect the our heroes. And, I mean, you’ll understand. The darker the night, the brighter. So, these were three eras times everyone was having a bad time”.
