batting woes continued in Brisbane when he departed for just three in India's first innings. Former opener Sunil Gavaskar had some advice for the out-of-form Kohli which has not been well received by the latter's childhood coach.

Rajkumar Sharma, who coached Kohli as a kid, said Gavaskar's suggestions were always welcome, but he should have the same advice for other players because Kohli was not the only one to fail. He added that it was unfair to judge his form based on two innings and also pointed out that Kohli had scored one out of the four hundreds made in this series.

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"Sunil Gavaskar has been a great player and his suggestions are always welcomed but I hope he suggests others also about their batting. He has been performing well since 2008. It will be unfair to say that he is out of form on the basis of two innings. He has already scored a hundred in this series. How many players have got a hundred in the series?" he told PTI.

What did Gavaskar say?

So what was it that the 'Little Master' said? Gavaskar said if showed the same resolve as Sachin Tendulkar in 2004, he could get a double ton. He was referring to Sachin's epic 241 not out in Sydney when the 'Master Blaster' did not go after balls that were outside the off stump and played mainly straight and on the leg side. It was a return to form and a great way to start the year.

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"Just like Sachin Tendulkar did in Sydney, in the previous three Test matches, he was getting out outside the off-stump, caught in the covers, or in the slips. He didn't play even one cover drive, only played straight and scored around two hundred and fifty runs by controlling himself and deciding not to play there. If he plays like this, just as Sachin scored a double century, Kohli can also do the same," he said on Star Sports.

At 36, this is most likely last Test series Down Under. But he has failed in four out of the five innings. The Perth 100 proved to be a false dawn as the year 2024 has seen him struggle for runs across formats. He has a maximum of five innings left in this series to redeem himself. With his place in the side under the scanner and calls for retirement going up all around him, nothing better than a great knock to silence the critics and repay the faith of his fans.