Greg Chappell: Ageing Kohli and Rohit Must Reignite Youthful Mindset to Regain Lost Glory

Former India head coach Greg Chappell feels that these cricketing icons have it in them to "rekindle" the passion and focus of their youth to reclaim their past glory as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma gear up for a pivotal Test series in Australia. After an unexpected 0-3 home series loss to New Zealand, India is all set to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the much-awaited five-match Test series in Australia, commencing November 22.

Chappell believes that the experience of Sharma and Kohli will have to dig deep into the same well of determination and intensity that characterised their best years if India is to change its fortunes overseas. Chappell recalled a conversation he had with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar in 2005 when he pointed out the problems that experienced players face over time.

Tendulkar once asked Chappell the following: "Greg, why does batting become tougher with age? Surely it must become easier?" Chappell has responded: "the mental demands of batting intensify with age," he wrote in a column for the *Sydney Morning Herald*.

Batting becomes tough because you understand how tough it is to make runs at this level and how hard it is to keep your mental concentration that's required to succeed," he said.

It's not the eyesight or the reflexes that drop off", says Chappell. "It's the intense focus that is required that becomes harder to sustain." The younger ones are so keen on scoring runs, but with aging players, strategies take advantage of that weakness and become ever more vigilant about game conditions and scenarios.

"When you are young, your head only thinks of making runs," Chappell explained. "As a young player, you do not bother about the conditions or the situation of the game, you just see the ball and how to make runs," he wrote while describing Rohit, Kohli, and Australia's Steve Smith as the "giants" of the current era.

He advised him that "if you want to play like you did as a younger player, you have to rekindle the attitude and the thought processes that you had as a younger player. That is the greatest challenge for the ageing player", a perspective he once shared with Tendulkar.

Looking ahead to the series, Chappell said: "It will be as much a battle of wits and endurance as it will be of skill, with each player needing to summon the drive and adaptability of their younger selves." Sharma, Kohli, and Smith face opponents who have studied their techniques deep and developed strategies to exploit each weakness. Versus New Zealand, Kohli scored his lowest-ever home series total batting at least six times, managing only 93 runs at an average of 15.50, with only one half-century.

This slide has taken Kohli's Test average down to 47.83, the lowest since a spell in October 2016 when he had a slump that had it slipping below 48. He also lost his place in the top-20 batters in the ICC Test rankings after ten years with a fall to 22nd, while Rohit moved to 26th.

For Kohli, the job is one of reviving. He is famous for his unbeatable passion, intensity, and high standards, which would have been intensely irritating to Kohli during his recent travails, Chappell noted.

"The belligerent attitude that made him a legend now has to share space with caution and concentration. He goes into this series eager to remind people once again of his status as India's best batsman of his era." Rohit, according to Chappell, has two battles to fight: the aggressive playing style and the careful strategy Test cricket requires.

"As captain, he must keep his own form while carrying the burden of leadership—a precarious juggling act he'll have to master if India is ever going to blossom."

Chappell thinks over the Test series as a test other than another cricket encounter; it is a testament to the challenges that father time presents to even the most skilled players.

For Sharma, Kohli, and Smith, Chappell concludes, "the true battle is not against their opponents but against time itself." The series will be a defining one in their careers, epitomizing the resilience and skill that marks the sport.