India need a wake-up call

India contemplated Test cricket without Virat Kohli (above) and Rohit Sharma this week after the star duo again failed to fire in the bruising series defeat to Australia.

With out-of-form skipper Rohit missing, the visitors went down by six wickets in the fifth and final Test on Sunday in Sydney to lose the series 3-1.

Fresh from a 3-0 home whitewash to New Zealand, the defeat sparked renewed debate in India about the future of the team and in particular two of its stalwarts.

The 37-year-old opening batsman Rohit, who missed the only India win of the series in the first Test because of the birth of his second child, managed 31 runs in three matches.

Kohli, 36, scored an unbeaten century in the first Test but otherwise had another underwhelming series by his sky-high standards.