Virat Kohli’s return to international cricket did not go as expected, as the former India captain was dismissed for a duck in the first ODI against Australia on October 19.
The match marked his first appearance in the ongoing series, where India lost early wickets, including Rohit Sharma, and needed stability from Virat Kohli.
Kohli faced seven deliveries without scoring, before being dismissed on the eighth ball by Mitchell Starc. Attempting a drive to a wide delivery, Virat Kohli was caught at point by Cooper Connolly with a diving effort.
The dismissal marked Kohli’s 17th duck in ODIs, placing him above Rohit Sharma in the list of Indian batters with the most ducks. He now sits fourth on the all-time list among Indian players, behind Sachin Tendulkar (20), Javagal Srinath, and the joint third-placed Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble.
Rohit and Kohli, who last played for India in the Champions Trophy, returned to the India jersey after a long break of 7 months. The focus is on two of the modern greats as questions linger about their place in the Indian team.
The failure is expected to reignite questions about Kohli’s future in the ODI format. While the batter holds multiple records in ODIs, his retirement from other formats and reduced international game time could test the selectors’ plans. Several reports suggest that the Indian team management does not consider him part of their 2027 World Cup plans.
Earlier, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had indicated that both Kohli and Rohit Sharma would need to prove their form in the domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy for future ODI selections.
Beyond Rohit and Kohli, the Indian team management also handed an ODI debut to promising all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had made his Test debut last year in the same venue. Nitish has played Tests and T20Is for India so far and has had impressive showings in his 13-match international career so far. The all-rounder recently played in the 2-match Test series against West Indies where he was underutilised by the team management.
