IND vs AUS: Brett Lee Warns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma Ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Calls for Mental Reset

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee has offered crucial advice to Indian cricket stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as they prepare to face Australia in the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting November 22 in Perth.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Lee suggested that Kohli and Rohit, who struggled during India's recent 0-3 Test series loss to New Zealand, need to step away from the game briefly to reset both mentally and technically.

Lee pointed to the Indian batters' difficulties against spin in the New Zealand series, where the duo tallied 93 and 91 runs, respectively, across three matches. "The word on the streets has been India 3-0. But while I predicted 3-0, it was not the other way," Lee said, reflecting on the shocking home whitewash.

"If you look at the Hitman [Rohit Sharma] and King Kohli - they got 90 runs each in the series. It's so unlike them. They are way better players than that," he noted. Both Kohli and Rohit faced sharp criticism after the series, where India lost 37 wickets to New Zealand's spinners, including Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, and Glenn Phillips.

According to Lee, the batters may have attempted an overly aggressive approach, which ultimately backfired. Lee noted that Rohit often fell to pace early in his innings, suggesting that his usual flair against the new ball was missing.

For Lee, however, the key to bouncing back lies in mentally detaching from the recent losses and approaching Australia with fresh determination. "When you have a couple of bad runs back-to-back, that's when the pressure could set in," he explained.

"Someone like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma just have to go back to the drawing board. Work on that technique, freshen up, get away from cricket as much as they can and then hit the ground running when they go to Australia." Kohli is already in Australia and Rohit's availability for the first Test is still uncertain.

In this situation, Lee stressed that a refreshed mindset would be essential against Australia's formidable pace attack. "I can promise you - these Australian fast bowlers will attack Rohit Sharma with that brand new ball," he warned, highlighting Australia's determination to exploit any technical or mental lapses.