Anyone who watched Novak Djokovic closely at Wimbledon 2026 would’ve seen two different players. One who came clutch against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the longest-ever quarterfinal at Wimbledon, and the other who was a step slow in the semifinal against Jannik Sinner. Djokovic played 6 matches and won just one in straight sets.
In these matches, he showed moments of brilliance but had way too many lapses. But that’s what you expect from a 39-year-old athlete, even if he’s one of the greatest ever. That’s exactly what happened to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the India vs England 1st ODI at Edgbaston.
Rohit Sharma’s intent issue
In their late 30s, Rohit and Kohli are bound to have more false starts and show more rust than they ever have in their career. Rohit hadn’t played an ODI or competitive match in a month, and it showed. Kohli was playing his first game since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Rohit just never got going during his 21-ball stay in the middle in the India vs England 1st ODI. Granted, the surface was doing a bit, but the Rohit of even a year ago would’ve smashed 30 or 40 runs during this time. He’d done that on various occasions during the ODI World Cup 2023 and Champions Trophy 2025.
Rohit Sharma has been in and out in his last four ODIs #ENGvsIND #IndianCricket #RohitSharma #Cricket pic.twitter.com/eVrDxrL55f
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) July 14, 2026Many of these matches weren’t on batting tracks, and Rohit’s intent in the powerplay was the game-changer. Why isn’t he able to do it now? Well, the first point is age and the stop-and-start nature of his career. But the second point is equally important. Since getting removed as India’s ODI captain, Rohit’s intent has taken a massive hit. Perhaps he doesn’t feel safe about his position if he doesn’t go out in ‘reckless’ fashion. He had all the backing, as he was at the helm himself. But that isn’t the case now.
From January 2023 until the Champions Trophy 2025, Rohit had a strike rate of 122.56 in the powerplay in ODIs. From October 2025 onwards, it’s 86.12. During this 2-year golden period, he still averaged 67.41. But this safe version isn’t doing that well in that department either: 44.50.
The Rohit of before would’ve scored 25 off 21. Today, he managed just 11. Yes, rust doesn’t help, but one must question exactly why he has taken the foot off the pedal. Does he fear for his spot because of mixed messaging from the management and with Yashasvi Jaiswal lurking behind?
Virat Kohli more rusty than usual
Kohli’s case was perhaps more so about just rust. Unlike Rohit, his intent has gone up in the last 12 months. But the delivery he was dismissed off was a ball to which he’d hit a four. It was a straight ball on the middle stump from Jofra Archer. He’d flick that ball in his sleep. But today, he somehow missed it.
Virat Kohli=GONE! pic.twitter.com/OoYriwqcYl
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 14, 2026That’s what no competitive cricket does to you. Unlike Shubman Gill, who hit the ground running with two boundaries on his first two balls, neither Rohit nor Kohli looked certain. The lone boundary Kohli scored was gloved past Jos Buttler for a four. 6 deliveries isn’t a sample size enough to judge someone, but neither of the veterans looked good in Birmingham.
Perhaps they’ll need to warm up their engines before they can run properly. But that’s what happens at 38 and 39. You don’t recover as quickly. You get injured more often, and those dream starts don’t come easily.
Rusty Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli fail to make an impact on comeback in IND vs ENG 1st ODI Inside Sport India.
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