Glenn McGrath's brutal assessment of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma: 'They got found out in Perth'

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma failed to get going in the first ODI against Australia, registering scores of 8 and 0 respectively.

There was plenty of hullabaloo around Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's return in the three-match ODI series against Australia, and rightly so. The two stalwarts were returning to international cricket after a gap of almost eight months; hence, the fan frenzy was expected. However, the first ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth was a disappointment for both as the duo failed to get going on a fast and bouncy track.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma failed to get going in the first ODI(HT_PRINT)

Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath believes the two were exposed by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood as they returned to competitive cricket after a long absence. It is worth mentioning that Virat and Rohit had not played any match since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 edition.

The duo had three practice sessions in Perth before the first ODI, but it was clearly not enough, as they lost their wickets cheaply. Rohit lost his wicket to a jaffa bowled by Hazlewood, and he returned to the dressing room after scoring just 8 runs.

Rohit did score 8, but Virat even failed to trouble the scores as he lasted just eight balls and lost his wicket to Starc.

"There was a lot of talk going into the match about the two greats, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They've not had a lot of cricket under their belt. And I think they got found out a little bit on a pitch that has got a little bit more pace and a lot more bounce than what they're used to back in India," said McGrath on the Fast Bowling Cartel YouTube channel.

Indian team in Adelaide

The Indian squad has already arrived in Adelaide, and the team had their first training session at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday afternoon. Both Virat and Rohit had a lengthy hit in the middle, and the duo would be hoping to get among the runs as there is a lot of chatter about their future and whether they make the trip to South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe for the 2027 World Cup.

Rohit and Virat play just the ODIs, hence it would be interesting to see if the two senior players decided to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December this year to fine-tune their skills and keep up with the game time.

After the series against Australia, India are slated to take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series. The home season will conclude with India taking on the Kiwis in the same number of ODIs in January this year.

Both Rohit and Virat are harbouring the dream of winning the 2027 World Cup considering what happened in the last edition in 2023, where India lost the final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium.