New Delhi: It was a rude start of the day for Indian cricket fans on Sunday after both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli faltered in their comeback ODI against Australia. Social media was soon flooded with memes, ridiculing both the cricketers who returned to international cricket after a gap of seven months.
Selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir weren’t spared either.
“I didn’t sleep last night just to watch this eight ball duck from King Virat Kohli,” a user going by the name Indian Storm posted on X. Another user posted a video of an over excited Rohit Sharma as a midget, being beaten to pulp by a wrestler.
“Sunday Barbaad Bhaisahab,” a user by the name of Sagar posted.
This reaction within hours of the duo’s failure goes to show the kind of expectations that fans had. Both were dismissed to pretty ordinary deliveries. While pacer Josh Hazlewood scalped Sharma, Kohli departed after fishing outside the off-stump to a delivery from long-time rival, Mitchell Starc.
Kohli, who retired from T20Is and Test cricket, had recently mentioned that he kept himself fit despite a long gap.
In an interview with Ravi Shastri and Adam Gilchrist for Fix Sports before the first ODI, the former India captain said: “Well, to be honest, the amount of cricket I’ve played over the last 15-20 years, I’ve actually not rested at all, if that makes sense. I’ve probably played the most number of games in the last 15 years in international cricket, combining the IPL together as well. So for me, it was a very refreshing time off.”
“I’m feeling as fit, if not fitter than I’ve ever been before, and yeah, you can just feel the freshness when you know you can play the game, and mentally you know what to do out there; it’s just the physical preparation that really needs to be taken care of,” he added.
There was also a lot of chatter after Sharma’s captainship was taken away. Shubhman Gill, who is now leading the squad, also failed to impress and got out cheaply on a rain-drenched day at Perth.
