You cannot dominate Starc and Hazlewood" - Mohammad Kaif's blunt take on Indian batters' preparation after AUS vs IND 2025 1st ODI

Former batter Mohammad Kaif criticised the preparation of India's batters after the first ODI against Australia. The Men in Blue were handed a seven-wicket defeat in Perth on Sunday, October 19.

In a game that had several stoppages due to constant rain, India could only score 136/9 from 26 overs. However, they had lost their top three batters for just 25 runs before the first rain break. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not have match practice as they were making a comeback. They last played in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Moreover, the Indian team was also coming off a Test match against the West Indies in Delhi. Therefore, Mohammad Kaif reckoned that they did not have the right preparation to bat on a pitch such as that in Perth. He added that pacers like Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood could not be played against with just net practice.

"I don't think India would have expected such a pitch in Perth. Virat and Rohit did not play for six-seven months. They did not have game time. The team was coming from a Test in Delhi. So the preparation was not at all right. On such a pitch, with Starc and Hazlewood in overcast conditions, we were not ready at all. With three to four days of net practice, you cannot dominate Starc and Hazelwood," he said on his YouTube channel.

Further, Mohammad Kaif reflected that Rohit and Kohli could have travelled to Australia earlier to prepare well. However, he highlighted that they were caught with the thought of travelling with the team rather than travelling alone.

"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had the opportunity. But maybe they thought they would go together and go with the team as people are behind them anyway like Virat should travel with the team, he has shifted to England so that pressure was there. It would be another problem if he did not travel with the team. So he got caught in this. These two had an opportunity to go there before eight to ten days. No matter how big a batter you are, this is a game of rhythm. A team like Australia will not spare you if you are not in rhythm. I feel it would be better if they would have arrived earlier."

Rohit scored just eight runs off 14 balls with a boundary. Meanwhile, Kohli failed to open his account. He was dismissed for an eight-ball duck.

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Mohammad Kaif on DLS revised target and India's batting

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif also spoke about the revised target based on the DLS method. While India made 136/9, Australia had to chase 131 runs in 26 overs. Addressing the issue, the former batter stated that certain rules always had loopholes.

However, he reckoned that it was more important for India to focus on their batting rather than think about the DLS system. Mohammad Kaif highlighted that Australia had also bowled out their lead pacers and did not have their overs at the death.

"There is always a loophole somewhere in the rules. It cannot cover everything. India went to play 50 overs but did not know it would be a shortened game. Starc and Hazlewood bowled their overs at the start. But there were new bowlers at the death. So even Australia did not know they would not have their main bowlers at the death. Instead of going into the DLS, we must see if our batting was good, did we play the right team, and what we can do better going forward," Mohammad Kaif said.

Despite a rain-curtailed affair, the Men in Blue will aim to come up with a better batting effort in the second ODI. They will have to win the game to keep their hopes of sealing the series alive.